A Loud Burden
by RedHerald
Summary: "A loud is nothing without their crowd." was something Lynn's father always said. It's message was simple but something that Lynn took to heart; it was that family should be there for family. It was for this reason he reluctantly took in his grandchildren. Even though they were the products of rape and incest.(This story is now Up for adoption)
1. Reluctant Salvation

**Discretion**** Assured Beta-read this. Guy really helped improve it a lot. You should read his stories. They're way better than this. Please, tell me what you see wrong with it. Can't say I'll agree with every suggestion or complaint, but I will hear it out and give it proper ponderance. **

* * *

"I have to concur with the findings of the doctor who examined Mother initially. She will die within the coming months." Lisa said this with a tone devoid of any emotion. Lynn said nothing for a moment. He just looked at the numerous Doctorates and accolades that decorated his daughter's office at Michigan's top research institute. Anyone who knew anything about Lisa Loud knew the small woman had the greatest mind in the world. And anyone who knew Lisa Loud could gleam that she was lying when she said she couldn't save her mother. Lynn had to wonder if Lisa even cared about her mother. But of course, she didn't. None of them did.

But he knew Lisa was the best chance of helping Rita with her cancer. Rita would not die. She could not. Lynn took a deep breath, "If it's a question of money_" before he could finish, his daughter shook her head. "Father, it is not a question of you possessing a certain amount of capital. It is merely a fact that the stage of Mother's breast cancer has progressed to the point where treatment would be an exercise in futility." Lynn shook his head refusing to believe Lisa's lies. He already heard this same message before. It sounded more ridiculous coming from Lisa's mouth than the Doctor that told Rita and him she was dying. Lisa was a genius despite being insane like the rest of her siblings; She should know how to heal her mother. It is mind-boggling that after these years, his children could still find ways to disappoint him. He resorted to contacting Lisa for the first time in years since she's joined her her siblings' insanity because he knew if anyone could help his wife, it was their second youngest. After all this time, she still desires to hurt them. "I could go to the police." Lynn whispered. Then more confidently and loudly, "I will go to the police and let them know everything you and your siblings have done. You're a fucking genius. You won a Nobel prize when you were four. Don't tell me there's nothing you could do." At the end of his rant, Lynn was screaming and shaking.

Lisa's expression was stoic.

"There are limits to even my abilities. If there was a way to treat Mother effectively, I would not hesitate in attempting it. There is not."

Lisa was lying. Lynn knew this. But for the love of God, he couldn't see why. Why did she want to hurt Rita and him? Why did she hate them? What unforgivable crime did he and Rita commit? He asked himself these questions in regards to his kids a lot. He still found no answer. He and Rita adored their children when they were growing up. They gave them almost whatever their children needed to pursue their dreams, they showed their children nothing but love. How could the people he and Rita brought up become such monsters?

Lynn took out his phone and dialed 9-1.1. And held his index finger over the call button.

"I'll do it, Lisa, don't test me, little girl, A couple of words and the whole world will know what freaks you and siblings are! Incest is a felony. Your life will be over. No one wants anything to do with a person who fucks her brother."

Lynn knew Lisa could help Rita. Lisa should be able to. She has to.

Lisa got up from her desk exposing her heavily pregnant stomach and walked up to Lynn. Her small frame insinuated her condition. Lynn felt a mixture of sorrow and disgust whenever he saw his daughter's condition. Another reminder of his children's depravity.

"Father, you have always proven to be an exceptionally admirable man. I think there is a greater chance of the theory of evolution to be debunked than for you to hurt your progeny intentionally." she hugged him and whispered, "I love you and I'm so sorry," her tone was laced with sorrow. Lynn could almost believe it was sincere. Almost. Lynn could not find the strength to pull away from her though. When she let him go he just walked out and just sat in Vanzilla. The thing he had once been eager to leave his son. He looked at his phone and turned it off. Lynn could not bring himself to follow through with his threat. Despite everything, he did not wish to see his children go to prison, where they may be raped or killed. The thought of Leni, in particular, being alone in such an environment, was Unfathomable to him. Leni wouldn't even know where she was at if she was sent to prison. He was angry at his children. He would never forgive them. He, to a degree, would even say he hated them. But, he could not bring himself to hurt them. Even when he discovered Lincoln's texts towards his older sisters that exposed years of incest of having gone on in his house Lynn's first reaction was to try get them all help. He and Rita would have pay for the therapy they'd need to get over their affliction. Their children refused. Lincoln even left the House. His younger sisters eventually sought him out and rather than being disgusted or attempting to talk sense into their siblings joined the madness. First it was Lucy. She ran off a couple months after Lincoln. She left a letter saying she was pregnant with Lincoln's child. That was the moment Lynn saw his son less of a victim and as sick as his older sisters Lana and Lola left at At the same time. Then Lisa. And finally Lily.

It had become clear none of them would ever admit what they were doing was wrong. That they could never see what they were doing was wrong. He would not destroy them.

But he had given up on trying to save them.

* * *

The four and half months since visiting Lisa were spent with great trepidation. Lynn made it a point to visit the Hospital that housed Rita everyday. It was hard to see her deteriorate, and not be able to do anything to stop it. It hurt. But at the very least he could be there for her. Normally while approaching the hospital he'd be too deep in thought in what he would say to Rita to take much note of surrounding. But, it was hard even for him not to note a white-haired young looking man with a shirt that said "Ace Savy is god", in a crowd of brunette and blond women next to large van with the messages of "Loud and proud" painted on its side.

They should know better than to be here. But of course, they didn't. He shot a glare toward's Lisa's way as he approached them. It took days of pleading from Lynn for Rita to even agree to be examined by Lisa and Rita made perfectly clear she wanted nothing to do with the rest of their children. He made Lisa swear not to tell her siblings. She lied to him. Though not surprising, he was still enraged at another betrayal by his blood. "Leave." was the first word Lynn spoke to them. It was the first word he said to most of them in years. Lynn thought it was the right one to use. Lincoln was the first one to respond. His son physically towered over Lynn in height, but he looked at Lynn as if he was some bear hellbent on eating eating white-haired idiots. "Dad, Lisa told us about how mom doesn't have a lot of time left. We don't want any trouble, we just want to be here for her and you."

Lynn could not help but laugh about the absurdity of his son's proclamation, "Rita should be able to spend her last days in peace. Not surrounded by, perverts, who've all broken her heart. She hates all of you." That was a lie. Rita, unlike Lynn, could not bring herself to hate their children. But, he knew their presence would hurt her.

Lori took a step forward. She was a beautiful woman. Lynn wondered how such a pretty face could hold such a wicked heart.

"Dad, I know you're angry at us, but we don't want our last interaction with us literally fighting. We are literally family, and we should be there for each other. Don't you want peace?"

Lynn never beat his children. He was raised by two old fashioned hippies who hated corporal punishment, who preached that love was the way to raise a child. He tried to treat his children with the same level of empathy his parents showed him when he messed up growing up. He never spanked his children, never sent them to bed without dinner, he was even hesitant to ground them unless absolutely necessary. At the moment, he was sorely tempted to crack his oldest daughter's skull with his bare hands. Lori was the one who started all this nonsense, and now she's demanding her parents to forget all the stuff their children have done. Demanding Lynn and Rita to continue to ignore what they are still doing. Lori had the nerve to lecture him about familial obligation. The woman who molested her brother was lecturing the man who spent a good number years slaving at a job he hated just to help put food on the table. He clenched his fists, and took a deep breath in hopes of calming himself. He lowered his voice to be a whisper, "I didn't want my teenage daughter to rape my eleven-year-old son. I didn't want my children to follow her example and proceed to make some insane Incestuous sex cult. I've never got what I wanted from any of you. Do you know what I want now? For you to leave us alone. Rita and I were doing perfectly fine without you all this time. We don't need you now. We regret having had any of you, freaks! If I could go back in time, I'd gladly crush my testicles before any of you were conceived. The pain of destroying my balls would be a small price to pay to spare your mother the pain you've caused her by destroying her heart."

Lynn was out of breath by the end of his tirade. His children's faces were masks of shock, horror, and sadness. Of course, they'd honestly expect him to say yes to Lori's ludicrous question. How foolish he was to expect them to be logical.

"Just go. You've done enough harm" he pleaded.

They finally got the message and left.

Good. Lynn and Rita did not need them.

They didn't need anyone. They had each other.

When he walked into the Hospital room that housed Rita and saw his wife, he tried putting on a smile. Rita had lost so much weight in the last months. She had been a fuller than average woman when he met her and retained her thick figure throughout most of their life together. Now she was practically skin and bones, and was even paler than Lucy.

"Oi Luv, pity a poor ugly bloke with a word?" Lynn said in the faux British accent that helped win Rita over.

Rita weakly smiled in response. "That's such a sweet a little lie, Lynn."

Lynn scoffed, "It's no more a lie than saying the sky is blue. It's not a little lie. It's a great big truth!"

Rita laughed lightly.

"How did I get so lucky to have such a caring partner?"

Lynn went by her bedside and shrugged. "It's not a hard to ponder out; by being kind, funny, smart, and beautiful. If you didn't have any of that, I'd probably have left you years ago."

Rita smiled again. " I'm sorry I'm not as lively today as I usually am." She was dying, and even at this stage, she was still trying to spare his feelings.

"I'm just a little bit tired. Give me a couple minutes to have a nap, I'll be good as your Cheese bits" She raised her hand to Lynn, and he grasped it gently. "I love you so much, Lynn Loud."

Lynn had tears in his eyes. "I love you too. Thank you for being you. Thank you for over three decades of bliss. Please get some rest. I'll be here when you wake up."

Rita smiled, closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

She would never wake up.

* * *

Lynn stared at the United Airlines website. Tonight he had planned to book a flight to Brighton. He craned his over to look at the urn that held his wife. The urn sat on a shelf in his and Rita's bedroom. Soon, he'd take her and spread her ashes over the to the beach he proposed to her. It would be her final send-off. He promised himself and her he would do this a couple of weeks after her death. It had already been six months. He needed to book a flight tonight. He's pushed back the date for having to do this for far too long already. Every night he'd say he'd book a flight tomorrow and he would never do it. The sooner he did this, the sooner he could get on with his life—without Rita. When he turned back to the Ipad's screen, he turned the thing off. He and Rita would go to Brighton again. He'd be sure to book a flight tomorrow. He turned him towards the clock on his night stand. It was 7:00 pm. and the house was quiet.

Where once laughter, crying, screaming, and even explosions filled the house, now only silence occupied it. He should sell the house. He knew he didn't need all the space in it. There were a lot of bad memories in it. He could start over have a new beginning.

He could not bring himself to do it, however. This was his home. It was apart of him. Besides, he was happy enough. His restaurant was thriving. He loved his work, and Lynn had to be there to keep it afloat. There can't be Lynn's table without Lynn at the restaurant. He shut his eyes and tried to silence all the niggling thoughts that plagued him every night. He was still awake when he heard someone knock on the door.

When he went to see who it was. He looked at the peephole and saw it was two policemen interrupting his not really successful attempts at sleep. One was a was a tall ginger, the other was a short black guy. He asked them to show some ID before opening the door to be on the safe side.

"Is there something I could help you with officers?" Lynn asked

"Sir, are you Lynn Loud?"

Lynn nodded, "That's the name my mother gave me."

"I'm officer Brandy." said the short one pointing to himself, "I'm officer Brody," the tall one said, "Do You mind if we take this conversation inside the house. We have some news you need to know about."

Lynn did not think this request had good omens, but he nonetheless invited them in.

"So, what's the big news?"

"Sir, we have to regretfully inform you that your son and daughters have passed away."

Lynn said nothing for a minute. He was angry at his children, but they were still his children. They can't all be dead. They shouldn't be dead.

"How?" he whispered

Brandy responded, "Far as we can tell they were on their way to a Spa when they collided with a car on the highway. The driver was intoxicated and unfortunately swerved into the van they were in."

Lynn numbly nodded. "Sir, I know this a massive thing to unload on you after getting such terrible news, but most of your daughters' children need a place to stay. Do you think you'd be able to accommodate them? At least until perhaps social-services could get a clearer picture of the situation?"

Lynn did not know what to say to that. If he took these kids in there was a chance he'd be stuck with them for years. He hadn't seen any of His grandchildren in the years ever Since he discovered their true paternity. Despite being disappointed that his teenage daughters got pregnant so young, he adored his new Role as Grandpa. When the truth finally came out, he cut ties with them completely, and couldn't even think of them without getting sick. They were the living symbol of His children's depravity. He could tell these officers no, and that would be the end of it. He had plenty of reasons to. He was old. He'd be doing it alone. Even when he was a younger man with a strong, practical partner, like Rita raising over ten kids was taxing. He was not legally required to do anything. It'd be incredibly expensive to take them in even it was just temporary. It'd cost a hefty penny just to feed all those mouths. They'd remind of all his failures as a parent. He had every reason to say no. He only had one reason to say yes. They were his blood.

"I'll take them."

* * *

**A/N**

**There's a fascinating Drawing from the writer Trillhouse where an old Lynn is surrounded by the sin kids. I just loved the look on Lynn's face. So dissatisfied. So angry at his family's predicament, I couldn't help but think of stories that could place an angry, bitter, Lynn in a situation where he actually(reluctantly) to be around them. **


	2. Expectations

**This will probably not be a great story. Mediocre maybe. Criticism no matter how harsh is welcome.**

* * *

"I fear this time you will suffer defeat Victoria" Aunt Lisa said with a tone devoid of any emotion.

Lynn Victoria Loud III or as she was called by her mom Victory merely smirked.

She was playing chess with Aunt Lisa while LuLu climbed up her mother's back watching the game with curiosity. Aunt Lisa was A world-renowned genius and Victory's favorite out of all her Mom's siblings. Victory absent mindedly glanced around the living room. Her eyes landed on a picture they took after arriving at their house a couple years ago. Victory was still a little taller than her sister and Leia couldnt talk. If only things could have stayed the same in that respect. Today was the adults would take their annual celebration of the event-away from the children. They cried they deserved a break at least once a year.

It seemed kinda weird that her mother and her mom's siblings decided to buy a house together. Most of them seemed well off enough to afford to live by themselves. Aunt Lola was some big-shot model, Aunt Lori was a Lawyer working for a pretty fancy law-firm, Aunt Luna was a rock in roll star, Aunt Lisa was a world-renowned scientist. She didn't exactly mind the predicament. Moving in together meant Victory could spend more time with Aunt Lisa, the woman who helped ignite Victory's passion for science. And unlike most of her Aunt's who were well-off to afford houses, and lavish apartments, Victory's mother wasnt nearly as well off. She was a gym teacher and part-time fitness instructor. The home they lived in before this was a crummy two-bedroom apartment. It was almost as bad as Uncle Stincoln's old apartment. The only thing really good about it was the white haired man living in it.

The one drawback to their living arrangement was that campy ass Van they got. "Loud and Proud" was engraved on its right side. It was embarrassing as hell to be seen in such a monstrousity.

Victory's eyes returned to the board finally. Her Aunt was frowning at her, annoyed with the tardy reply to declaration. Victoria loved teasing her aunt. Especially during chess.

Aunt Lisa began teaching Victory about how to play chess when she was five after see Victory saw her Aunt beat a machine she personally made to play chess. When Victory expressed interest in the game. Aunt Lisa was more than happy to oblige giving a three hour lecture about the history of the games, history figures in it, strategies, theories of it and the rules of it.

Eventually Victory just flat-out asked if they could play the game. She was demolished completely. Victory still remembered the smug smile on Aunt Lisa's face. The small woman asked if she could continue on with her lecture. Victory just decided to shut up and take notes. ShHer perseverance paid off. By the age of eight, Victory was able to give Lynn a proper challenge. By ten, she was able to beat Lisa on occasion. By now Victory has beaten Aunt Lisa ten times in a row at chess so far in their hour and half of playing today

Victory looked at the board fully confident this time would be no different

"Oh, what could you give you that impression Aunt Lisa?" Victory asked.

Lisa explained her previous and bizarre proclamation with candid clarity. "You have lost your rooks, a Bishop, and your queen. While I've so far have been able to retain all my power pieces. The odds of you achieving even modicum success going forward is infinitesimal."

Victory shrugged. "I figured I'd at least try to give you a fair chance."

Aunt Lisa frowned. "Great Einstein's mind girl, You truly are your mother's daughter. Arrogant to the point of absurdity."

Victory took that as a compliment.

Five minutes later, the game was over. Victory won.

Rather than being frustrated at having been defeated by her young niece once again, Victory's favorite Aunt smiled in absolute approval. "That was impressive."

Victory smiled broadly. She looked at the board and could not help but feel a little smug at her Accomplishment.

Aunt Lisa always made Victory feel like a winner. Special. Whether it working on creating some badass monstriousty of scinece, or playing game of strategy like Chess spending time with Aunt was always a blast.

When Lacy came in the house, sweating bullets, and wearing a huge smile, her first statement was "I beat Mom!"

She rushed to Victory lifted her from the chair Victory was sitting in and spun her around in excitement. " I beat mom." Victory younger albeit much bigger sister screamed in joy once again right in Victory's ear.

The bigger girl let her go once their mom came in the house, wearing an even bigger smile than Lacy's.

"My girl beat me! Did you hear Lisa, my girl bested me in a race for the first time ever. I'm telling you Lacy will go pro. Today just proves it!"

Victory's mother and sister, for some reason(probably just for the challenge ), decided to run all the way to Flips and back with the goal being to be back before it was time to go.

Aunt Lisa offered her sister a smile. "That is wonderful news, Lynn. Your namesake here beat me in chess eleven times in a row. It's truly an accomplishment to have produced such a talented progeny."

Her mom didn't seem to be that impressed with Victory's accomplishment. "You beat ole four eyes huh? That's cool." her mother said, before going about praising Lacy's defeat of her and profound implications of Lacy being an inevitable success.

Victory's mother was obsessed with sports and took after her in that respect. Lacy was a prodigy at Sports. She was captain of three of her schools's sports. Victory on the other hand didn't like sports. She wasn't interested in sports. Watching them, playing them, was boring for her. They simply weren't her thing. Plus, Victory was bad at them. All of them. From tennis to soccer, to Football if it were sport Victory would probably suck at it. Victory was not being facetious. Her mom had enrolled Victory in practicly every sport she could think of. Victory failed spectacularly at every single one. Victory was both exulted and saddened when her mother stopped pushing Victory to be in sports. Exulted that her mother got the point that Victory would never be that good at sports. Saddened that it feels like her mom gave up on her. She never mocked Victory for being bad at sports,but Victory could see in her eyes the tall woman was disappointed with Victory.

As her mother continued her praise of Lacy, Victory felt like a loser.

Victory looked down to her short legs and frowned. She could never beat her mom in a race.

When they finally left the room, she could not look at the board with the same level satisfaction as she did a few moments ago.

"Do you want to play again?" Aunt Lisa asked.

Victory shook her head. "Nah, I'm going to go bother Uncle Stinkcoln." that was some thing that could usually cheer her up." Thanks for humoring me Aunt Lisa"

And with that she made her way upstairs.

"Victoria."

Victory looked back to her aunt before she ascended the stair case. The small woman walked over to her niece and gave Victory a hug. "I am proud of you." her Aunt said. Lulu seeming to want to comfort Victory as well began petting her on the head.

Victory sighed. "Thanks Aunt Lisa." and she was grateful. She just wished those words could come from her mother some time.

* * *

"Oh, Uncy Lincy, why can't I go with you? Did I do something wrong? I pwomise to be better!" Leia put her hands together and gave her favorite(albeit her only ) uncle the best puppy dog eyes she could muster. She even employed a tiny lip quiver and managed to coax up a tear. Just like her mother taught her. She could tell by the look of remorse on his face he would crack under the weight of the guilt and let his favorite come along with the spa. They were in her Uncle's office. Comic books were framed around the room, and her uncle sat behind a desk with a computer that was just the latest expensive gift from Leia's mother. She was sure if she could break him that her mother would follow suit. Her mother was always giving gifts to her uncle usually with Leia's input.

He sometimes told his sister didn't have to be so generous, but her mother brushed his objections off. Her mother just said that family should be generous with each other and given she's become so rich off her modeling and acting careers she could easily afford it. That last point was a quasi-brag. Though Leia herself never saw her mother give any of her sisters give gifts half as luxurious or expensive as the ones she's given uncle. Even Aunt Lana only got a new tool-belt for their last birthday. Aunt Lana liked the belt, but it still just a tool belt. Leia remembered for Aunt Lynn's birthday how her mother just bought a football on the way to the party.

So it reasonably obvious Uncle Lincoln was a soft spot for her mother. So logic dictates that the best way to get Leia's mother to do something is to get her white-haired brother to want it.

"Well, may_" before he could finish the sentence, a familiar voice cut him off. "Don't do it, Uncle Stinkcoln. You know Mom will have your head for dinner after Liena gives it a nice cooking." Lynn, the third more commonly known as Little Lynn by most of relatives and Leia's least favorite cousin, stepped beside Leia. The girl's presence was always sufferance. Just looking at her teeth Made Leia feel queasy. One was so long that it always poked out of the girl's mouth. And all her teeth were sharper than knives. How the girl hadn't bitten her tongue off is something Leia doubts even Aunt Lisa would able to find out.

Now the sharp-tooth dork was attempting to thwart Leia's valiant attempt at getting to go with the adults' on their luxury spa. Leia shot her cousin the deadliest, meanest, spirit-crushing glare she could muster. The one her mother taught her. Little just shot a Leia an ugly smirk. "Besides, the twins will need their favorite Big cousin once they're moms are gone." she put a hand to grasp. "Do you truly want to abandon them in their time of need? Because that would break those tots' little hearts."

Ouch. The twins were a soft spot for Leia. She refused to feel shame about that. The little girls were just so cute. Lizy was bubbly, and open to all. And so imaginitive. The girl was always enlisting her cousins and sometimes even some of the adults in her little homemade movies, she'd make with the little video-camera Leia got her last christmas. Usually the plot was involved superheroes vs supervillians with Leia playing the role of lead villain. Leia not like to brag, but she felt she played the parts of an evil crimnal mastermind particulary well. monsters destroying cities this was usually just Lulu smashing some carbord boxes. Whatever the story Aunt Leni helped in the props and fasioned clothes. Lops was shy, but oh so so incredibly sweet when you got to know her. She wasnt as adventurous as her older twin. Her excitement skewed towards plants. Plating them, harvesting them, if it was plant related the girl loved it. Gardening with her and Aunt Lana was one Leia's favorite past times, by virtue of just watching her normally quiet cousin become so lively. They would need their favorite cousim.

Leia sighed. "Point taken."

Her uncle still looked guilty even after Leia acquiesced.

"I promise I'll make it up to you, Princess when we get back. It's just that we grown-ups need this break."

He held his arms open and gave a hopeful smile. Leia quickly hugged him and gave him a kiss on the cheek, when she let him go she spoke to him in her sternest voice she could muster "A Five-hour tea party and a whole day of pampering, no complaints of any kind. Also, I get to dye your hair a fabulous shade of pink and braid it, and you'll have to keep it like that for a whole week. "

Her uncle shook his head and grinned, "Take out the part of dying my hair pink, and it could be a six-hour tea party."

Leia looked him straight in the eye. "Deal," she said before giving her uncle a firm handshake. Her uncle gave her a big smile. She couldn't help but smile back.

A telephone started beeping, and her uncle answered it. His smile fell slightly. "Girls, could I please have a minute. Grown-up business."

Upon exiting the room, Leia immediately began interrogation of the nasty troll that was her cousin.

"Why did you do that, Little?" Leia implored the obnoxious girl.

Little just shrugged her shoulders. "Your plan wouldn't have worked." Leia grounded her teeth at that. Her Uncle had always been accommodating to her wants before. Logic should dictate this time would be no different.

"Explain," Leia demanded.

Little grinned.

"Our easily malleable uncle would have surely bent to your cutesy act, and say you could play tag along. Of course, a lot of our other cousins would whine that should be able to come to such hard people the state of Michigan may get flooded, which, although maybe good in that it would mean no school would probably mean my favorite comic book shops would get wrecked. Can't have that. Also, our Aunts would have shut him down, your mom probably would have shut him down the hardest, which in addition to embarrassing to him, would make the poor sap feel bad for having let down the girl who sees him as her hero."

Leia wanted to object. But she couldn't see anything wrong with what Little Lynn just said. It had been her mother's idea. Leia had begged her to come along and been given a stern refusal. She'd probably get mad at Leia for trying to manipulate her uncle. Mad and proud, but mostly just insane.

"Besides, even if you could worm your way into going with them, the rest of the kids would have to go too. It would bring down the relaxed mood. And the guys deserve a break now and again."

Leia thought that statement was surprisingly unlittle like. It almost sounded human.

"Plus, I just like messing with you, cuz." Now that sounded like Little. Without warning, the older girl grabbed Leia by the head and proceeded to give Leia a noogie. "Get off," Leia demanded, as regally as she could, given the uncomfortable position she was in.

"Not until you say I was right."

"Your analysis of the situation wasn't exactly wrong."

Little Lynn merely grounded her knuckles in Leia's scalp much harder. Leia struggled with all her might, but the older girl's hold was solid.

"You're making me do this cuz. Come on say I was right and you were wrong."

"Never!" Leia declared, still desperately trying to loosen her cousin's grip.

Leia watched in abject horror as Little stuck a finger in her mouth.

"Last chance, princess."

"You wouldn't dare!"

Little inched her finger to Leia's ear slowly.

"Ok, you were right." she screeched in a not so regal manner. "You were right, and I was wrong. Now release me, you disgusting little goblin!"

Thankfully Little let her go.

Leia sprang up and smoothed out her hair, trying to repair some of the damage inflicted by Little.

The sharp-tooted girl proceeded to clap Leia lightly on the cheek, not hard enough to hurt, but it was still patronizing. Leia tried brushing Little's hand away, but the other girl pulled her hand back and flicked Leia on the forehead. That did hurt a little.

"Leia, you're not as stupid as other seven-year-olds. But you're short-sighted. Like other seven-year-olds. You'll hopefully grow to have refined temperament as you get older."

Leia growled. "Maybe you should hope to grow more in height, Little. God, there are girls in my class bigger than you."

Leia wasn't exaggerating that much. Lynn, the third, was tiny, especially in comparison to her sister and mother. Aunt Lynn was taller than a lot of men, and Lacy herself at just eleven wasn't that far behind. Little Lynn was just Little. Little for a girl, little for her age, flat out Little.

Her cousin just laughed, "Nope, I'm about as tall as I'll ever get. Based on my estimates, I'll reach a height of five feet by fifteen I'm cursed to remain just above being a dwarf. I guess that's a fair trade for having such a winning personality, handsome face, and a great mind. Could you imagine if I could reach the top shelf at stores without help? I'd practically be a god!"

"A god of self-delusion, perhaps." sneered Leia.

"I was thinking of a God of wisdom and beauty."

Leia scoffed. "Beauty? Maybe to dogs with those teeth."

Little shrugged. "I mean of course even lesser species recognize my great looks. Are you admitting to being more stupid than a dog dear cuz?"

" I meant dogs that are in so much pain they need to be put to sleep. Your Face could put them out of their misery."

"So you think my looks are so good they could kill? Geez, thanks, cuz. I'm flattered, though I have to say you're not my type. My type tends to be a little older, not family, and have a full mouth of teeth."

Leia was about to make another vicious retort, but a voice seemingly out of nowhere interjected. "Guys, could we just try to be nice?"

Both Leia and Little jumped at the sound of the voice and turned to its source.

She expected it to be in London or Lucy. The gothic mother-duo were always popping up in places like her mother. It never stopped being creepy.

She was surprised to see the person whod made Leia's heart beat so hard it threatened to claw its way out of her chest was A tall, gawky teen with white blouse and black skirt. And a really farcical magician hat on her head.

"Lois, you shouldn't sneak up on people. It's rude." Leia lambasted her cousin.

Lois sheepishly shrugged her skinny shoulders and gave a nervous, looking smile. "Sorry. It's just I've been asking for Aunt Lucy how to appear out of nowhere to help with my act. It's hard to turn it off once you learn how she does it."

"It is a wicked skill to have. Though it could prove annoying when you want to be noticed," a monotonous voice piped up.

Leia and both of her cousins jumped at that sound. Little laughed at the absurdity of it all.

"How long have you been here with us London?" Little asked the gothic suit-wearing girl, with a grin.

"I was Uncle's office before all of you. Leia barged in here to beg our Uncle to deliver her from the hell of our company, right when I was about to ask him to read some of my Princess pony fanfic. I also walked out of his office with and have been witnessing you guys' antics."

London's fascination with that show was always baffling to Leia. The show sweet that the times she watched it with the twins, she felt if she didn't brush her teeth for thirty minutes; afterward, her teeth would fall out.

London was not sweet. She was dark.

Like for example, London had taken up a weird hobby of burying dead things for a fee. Part of the reason? Leia thought it might be fitting With a funeral director as a mother, Leia figured it wasn't shocking. It was still in Leia's opinion incredibly creepy. But Leia always felt she might have owed the girl an apology. "I'm sorry interrupting your business with uncle." she hesitated, "I could give your writings a look over if you'd like. All my teachers have said my writing and reading level is well above my peers."

Little nodded."Yes, she's able to read things that don't have pictures in it. Practically a literary genius."

Leia scowled at her short cousin.

London shook her head. "It's NSFW"

Leia cocked her head, confused at the meaning of the acronym. She glanced towards her cousins. Lois looked confused as well, but Little was giggling."What does that mean?" Leia demanded to know. She hated being in the dark about what others were talking about around her.

"As much as I yearn to become one of the black Abyss that will consume us all when all die, I'd rather not do so today because your mother destroyed me for corrupting her Princess' precious little mind. Your Mother could even be scarier than mine. An impressive feat."

"Uncle Stinklon would give you feedback on that stuff?" Little asked, still grinning.

London scoffed. "Little you're too smart to ask that. He'd faint after reading the first couple of lines."

"But why ask him to read it?" Lois asked.

London shrugged. "It would be funny to see and perhaps secretly record his reaction."

Little clapped the gothic teen on the back in a show of approval.

Leia shook her head and decided to drop the issue. Just London being a weirdo as usual.

"Lemy the floor is lava." screamed a voice from down the hall. The group of Loud children looked over to the source of the noise. A balloon came floating up and the tall Lacy gave it a mighty thump towards her cousins direction. Without a word for his intrusion the small boy thumped the baloon further down the long hall.

Their uncle came out of his office and Lacy ran right into the door while chasing the balloon.

A look of horror crossed Uncle's face.

"Lacy, are you alright?" Uncle Lincoln crouched to inspect the girl for sighns of injury

Though visibly unhurt the girl howled in pain. At the sight of the balloon falling to the floor. Leia rolled her eyes at her sport's obssesed cousin's overreaction. Lacy, was generally an likable girl. So likable Leia often wondered how could she be the sister of such a nasty Troll like Little. Where Little was dour and delighted in being mean, Lacy was upbeat and was nice. Lacy could be such a drama queen when losing during the initial sting of it. She'd be her usual cheery self shortly.

Lemy never being a particularly gracious winner started to dance and boast of his victory. He shut up and gave a sheepish grin after getting a hard look from Uncle.

"That's poor sportsmanship Lemy."

"Sorry Lincoln. And sorry Lacy. Are you okay?"

Lacy nodded. Then gave a massive grin. "Best two out of three?"

Uncle Lincoln shook his head. "Not right now."

Their white haired uncle turned to the rest of them.

"Kids, it is about time we leave. Come downstairs, and say goodbye to your mothers."

* * *

"Remember while we're away, Lyra's and Liena's word is literally law." Loan's mom announced with a tone that brokered no argument.

Loan did not take offense at not being included in the list of people who'd have authority while the adults were away. Honestly, it was just good sense. Lyra is strong, calm, and would snuff out any sort of trouble before it had a chance to happen. Although younger than Liena the brunette would typically take the lead. Liena tended to be laid back, willing to only intervene in the shenanigans of their younger cousins unless absolutely necessary, peppy.

People could count on Lyra and Liena

No one could count on Loan. She was not an ironclad autocrat like Lyra, nor was she an especially good nurturer like Liena. She was Loan. And nothing about Loan was good. The ideal day for her would typically be locked in her room playing on her PC until the next morning, sleeping until late into the afternoon and starting the whole process over again once she woke up. She had no business being in charge of anything. Honestly, if Lyra and Liena weren't around the younger kids would probably be better off looking to Lulu for guidance. At least a baby wouldn't make things worse.

At dinner time, Lyra scanned the room for any hint of bad behavior and clamped down on it ruthlessly. Whether it was overly-aggressive teasing by Little, or London trying to gross out Lois by recounting tibit details of her latest Princess Pony fanfic, Lyra was quick in quelling such behavior.

Liena was busy feeding Lulu with some homemade mashed carrots and kindly telling Lizy not use their hands to eat. Lops

When the door rang, Loan decided to make herself be a little useful. When she peeked out the peephole and saw a group of people that included men in police uniforms, Loan immediately ran back to the table and told Lyra what she saw.

The younger teen's eyes narrowed.

"Stay here," she commanded.

Loan was more than happy to obey.

When she came back with the group of adults she looked as paler than Aunt Lucy.

"Get your backpacks, put clothes, toothbrushes in them."

Everyone looked at her in confusion. Loan noticed Liena glancing at her. Loan shrugged her shoulders.

"We're going to with these nice people here. Right now. I promise I'll tell you what's wrong when get we get to where we need to go, but we need to leave. Please hurry.

"Who are they?" Loan asked scared for the shift in Lyra's behavior.

The brown-haired girl looked and put a hand on her shoulder. "Social-services. I promise I'll tell you more when we get where we need to go."

Loan was not put at ease by the crypticness of Lyra's statement.

Moments later everyone had a backpack on their back, ready to go.

Liena held Lulu in one arm.

"Do you have everything you brought with you?"

Everyone nodded.

"Good."

They all managed to squeeze into the van. Loan looked to her cousins. Each looking as confused and anxious as she was.

When they were brought to a police station and was escorted to a small room and told to wait only then did Lyra tell them what was going on

"Our mothers and Uncle are dead. " Lyra announced.

Everyone looked confused at her confused

No one said anything. What could you say to that?

Then laughter was heard. It was from Little.

"Ok, you almost got me Lyra. So where's Aunt Luan with the camera? I mean this joke is pretty dark, even for me, but pretty elaborate so kudos."

Little thought this one of her Prankster Aunt's jokes." Loan wanted to believe her small cousin was right. She glanced back at Lyra, hoping to a smile on her face. She just saw the same dead-seriousness face that just told her the worst possible news ever.

"It's not a joke Victoria," Lyra said.

Little's smile only stretched wider. "Sure it is isn't. Do tell us what happened to them. A prank gone wrong by Aunt Luana? Good Did Aunt Spooky summon a demon which devoured them all?"

Lyra looked Little dead in the eye. "It was a drunk driver."

Little rolled her eyes. "Seriously that's the story you guys settled on? You could have picked something more believeble. I mean come on a van that size no matter how stupid it looks would more likely kill any driver ramming into them"

A look of annoyance flashed on the small girk's face. "Great Eienstein's ghost, is this all for some lame lesson for why we shouldn't drunk drive?"

Lyra did not show anger at accusation. "The crash happened on a slope on a hill over a river. Our uncle swerved to avoid them. That unfortuneatly proved to be mistake."

Little still looked annoyed. "This isn't funny anymore Lyra."

Lyra just looked at the small girl with great sadness.

A look of understanding dawned on Little's face.

"Oh, you're serious." Little said nonchalantly.

Lyra nodded.

Small trickles of water began to fall from the girl's eyes.

And with that, a dam of tears was unleashed in the room.

Lacy rushed to her older sister and hugged the smaller girl

Lemy slowly walked to Lyra and clasped his older sister and let out deep sobs into her shirt.

The twins and Liena clomped onto Liena.

Nearly everyone was screaming and crying in pain.

Hours later screaming and crying mostly stopped. Because most were all just too tired to do it Lyra did not cry.

The twins, Lulu, Leia were tuckered out from the exhaustion of it all and resting on Liena.

Lois was sitting beside London, suit-wearing girl rubbed her cousin's back. Loan had never seen London cry even as a baby. But tears rained fully on her pale cheeks.

"What're we going to do," Loan asked Lyra as the teen held her long-haired brother in her arms

"We get through this together."

Loan could almost believe Lyra. Almost. She was not some great attorney like her mother by any stretch, but she knew the odds of them staying together, was basically nonexistent. The most that could be hoped for is that siblings could be kept together but even the chance of that happening wasn't certain.

Loan was not a religious person. But desperately prayed to whatever god who'd listen for a miracle.

She was relieved when a lady from Social-services came to get them to take them the man who was supposedly their grandfather.

Loan did not know anything about her grandfather other than his first name.

On their ride to their grandfather's home, she asked her oldest cousins if they remembered anything about the man.

Loan, memories of the man where jumbled. She vaguely remembered a curly-haired man with a big smile wearing a pink apron peering down at her.

She asked her cousins if they remembered anything.

"My mom says_" the large teen grimaced. "My mom said I got my cooking skill from him."

Loan turned to Lyra. The brunette merely shrugged. "My memory of the man is just good as your Loan."

A balding, skinny old man, greeted them at the door a large house. The man talked to the social worker before she left. Their grandfather seemed to be wary of them. He did not offer condolences. Or hug them. He didn't even ask for their names. He merely gave them a motion with his left arm to follow him upstairs to see where'd they'd be sleeping for the night.

"There is enough room for you girls to share." he pointed to a room on his left "I put up a crib for the baby in that one. There are also diapers, and I've scrounged up some food for her downstairs." he directed a look towards Lemy. "The boy could sleep in his Uncle's old room." he pointed to the last door down the hall."

"I'll start assigning chores tomorrow. We'll see about enrolling you into school as well." with that the man turned and made his way to his own room.

Half of Loan's family including her mother was gone and her own grandfather apparently hated his grandchildren. She turned to Lyra.

"We're going to be ok." Lyra declared seeing the look of fear in cousin's eyes. "We will get through this."

Loan could almost believe her. Almost.

* * *

A/N

**_Um some minor retractions last chapter I attributed a drawing Trill-house. That was a mistake. It was artist by the name of Patanu._**

**_Discrtion-Assured beta-read this. He made it a lot less terrible than it originally was. You should read his stories. Much better than my trite._**

**_Edits done on January 7. Some mistakes in grammar, some minor expansion on the accident. _**


	3. Uncomfortable Discussions

**I did some edits on the last chapter. Nothing too massive you couldn't continue on reading with no problem, but enough to hopefully sate some of you in terms of the grown ups deaths played out exactly. I don't own the Lous House. If I did why would I be writing crummy fanfic about it? Probably not. Criticism no matter how harsh is welcome. **

* * *

Leia was having a great dream.

Everything was perfect. The family was all together at home eating dinner doing what they usually do. Aunt Luan was making jokes to her usual quality. And the family(with the exception of Lois who laughed so hard milk shot out of her nose because she found every joke from her mother to be the epitome of comedy), gave their customary groans once the punchline was delivered. Aunt Leni was discussing a new dress she was making for high class client with Liena. Aunt Lucy was giving an overly descriptive recounting of how a funeral she planned went. Only London seemed interested in hearing such dreariness, and Lyra was trying to get their dark Aunt to refrain from talking about such matters at the dinner table. Aunt Luna merely watched the exchange of her daughter trying to make everything prim and proper with a smile on her face. Lacy and Lemy were talking wrestling. The two were avid fans of the genre, and would often get into heated debates in regards to it. Aunt Lynn interceded and explained why the the two pre-teens were both wrong about everything they said. Leia thought such talk was meaningless and a waste of time. Leia's mother talking about a modeling job she managed to grab with her Uncle who was respectfully nodding and congratulating her mother on such a well earned accomplishment. Aunt lana gave a vicious snort and preceded to lampoon Leia's mother's supposed cockiness. Aunt Lisa and Little were discussing some new experiment that was probably going to end in a loud explosion. Aunt Lily was trying to convince Loan to try to get into the Universty she attending. Aunt Lily thought it'd be a good fit for Loan given it's closeness to home and its drawing program. Everyone was acting their typical selves. It was a completely normal dinner and that was why it was perfect. She wished she could stay in this moment forever.

The shrieks of fear made clear she could never get her wish.

She opened her eyes and found her two favorite little cousins trembling as they clung onto her. Each room with the exception' of her uncle's old room had two beds. This obviously meant some people would have to share, and Leia felt guilty having bunked with her two favorite cousins. The room beside from their beds seemed to have been stripped of giving any hint whose room orginally belonged to which mother.

"Shh its ok we're not in danger, I'm here for you pretty girls" Leia said soothingly.

"Lops scared me. She screamed, so I screamed and a-and_" Lizy's words stumbled with not a hint of anger. Merely worry and confusion for her younger twin's outburst

"I had a nightmare." Lops said teary eyed, and seemingly feeling ashamed for her outburst. She gripped the small stuffed bunny in her hand hard. Bun-bun had been an old handme down toy from their uncle. In theory anyone could use it, but it was only the really younger kids who had interest in the small stuffed rabbit.

Leia rubbed the little plant-obsessed girl's back gently to try to help calm her down.

"That's totally fine. We all have those from time to time. Heck last month I dreamed I was bald and forced to dress like a clown by Little." Leia said trying to cheer the plant obsessed girl up just little.

"Do you want to talk about yours." Leia already guessing what it had been about. But she'd thought it was important for the little girl to tell it herself.

"I dreamed that I lost you and Lizy, and Lyra and a-and everyone!" at this the girl started to cry again. Leia glanced at Lizy and knew if she didn't act now both twins would be bawling.

"We're not going anywhere. I promise. Not me, not Lyra, no one. We're all going to be here for you." Leia said this even though she had her own fears about being seperated from her family. But neither of her pretty little cousins needed to hear that.

"B-but our mommies a-and Uncle Linc_" Leia cupped the small girl's face face and made her look straight in the eyes. "We won't leave you little one." Leia said with as much authority she could muster in her voice. "I promise we'll stick by you no matter what. You trust your favorite big cousin right?" asked Leia. The girl nodded.

She then glanced at Lizy once more. "You trust me too right Lizy?" the older twin nodded.

"You know you could count on me for anything right?" Leia asked both of them. They nodded. "Well there you go. I'm going to be here for you. Always. It's as simple as that." Leia silently prayed the twins bought into her logic. That it was enough to placate them for now at the very least. She had almost abandoned them when she tried to sneak off with the adults. If she suceeded she'd be gone. She'd add onto the hurt these girls. The pretty girls holding onto her deserve a better cousin. They deserve a cousin who'd be good enough to where the adults wouldn't need a 'break' just to not go away. Leia knew she didn't deserve their love. But she could at least act in a way aperson who does their love should.

The two nodded, but still looked far from convinced. Leia could not blame them quite frankly. She too feared the recent losses they've endured already would be a start of a bad trend, where she'd lose all that she had love-the two little girls included. She wanted her perfect mother, she wanted her annoying aunts and caring uncle. She never thought she'd lose them, but she lost all of them. But the two little girls didn't need to know their favorite big cousin was afraid.

"Hey, why don't I tell you guys a some funny stories?" Leia asked them with the biggest smile she could muster. They were stories her uncle used to tell her when she got nightmares when she was little. It was about the adventures of a white-haired rabbit and his zany overbearing siblings. At thought of her uncle Leia grew a little more saddened, but did not drop her smile by a fraction. Her pretty girls needed her to smile. And she would smile as long they needed her.

Eventually the two girls drifted off to sleep and light snores filled the room once more.

Leia hoped she'd soon follow and hoped that she'd dream of a time where the world made sense.

"I always liked those dumb stories." a voice piped in softly from the darkness. Leia turned her head to meet the eyes of her suite-loving cousin. "How long have you been awake London?" Leia whispered.

"I've never went to sleep." the suite loving girl admitted, "I've always found the darkness comforting. But tonight, given the news of-of you know it's been rather difficult. It's rather irrational for me to be so troubled by it."

Leia shhok her head in disbelief. "We lost our mothers and uncle."

"But I'm the daughter of Lucy Harriet Loud. I know death to be a natural thing that will come for everyone. "

"London you're still human."

"But I've tried so hard to change that." London said

Leia sighed.

"I've been staring at Lois while she slept. Starring at one of you guys while you sleep usually helps me sleep." London said apropos of nothing.

Leia was not an idiot. She knew London was trying to redirect the conversation into more familiar territory. Nevertheless she played along.

"How often do you do that ?" Leia inquired.

"Not too often. Two, maybe three times times a week and never with the same person."

"That's creepy London." Leia proclaimed with none of her usual vigour. This was the routine the family had built around London and Lucy. One would do something creepy, and when someone around them would comment on said creepiness, the gothic girl or woman would them shrug their shoulders to show they don't care or do/say something evem more creepy.

It was familiar, and it was safe.

"London, can I tell you something."

London was quick to respond."Of course."

"I'm so scared." Leia admitted. She wished she was like Lyra capable of being brave all the time. But she wasn't, and she felt terrible about it.

London sighed. "Me too."

* * *

"We will get through this." Lyra repeated to the mirror once more. She took a deep breath before continuing. "We will be ok. I can keep my family safe."

She said this with a tone of absolute certainty.

Lyra stared at her her reflection and was relieved to see not a hint of doubt was shown on her face. This was the face, her cousins needed right now. The face that promised stability, that promised that everything would be all right, and that Lyra had any idea on what she's doing. The face that she feared would prove to be a liar. But right now the best face she could give her cousins who were depending Lyra to be strong. For them she could pretend to be strong. At the very least not reveal how utterly terrified she is.

They didn't need to know that she woke up early this day crying like a baby because of a nightmare where each of them was slowly taken away from her. She was glad she decided to bunk in the same room as Lulu. If her other cousins saw her like that Lyra honestly doesn't know what she'd do.

She absentmindly checked her phone. It was six in the morning. About time for her to do her first official job of the day.

She went down stairs, and grabbed a small glass of water before heading back up stairs to the room that housed her oldest cousins.

She went to the dresser and saw Loan's anxiety medication and took a small pill out of the bottle.

Aunt Lori had been very explicit when talking to Lyra and Liena on the matter of Loan's medicine dosage.

"Loan must Literally have one pill of this everyday at 6:10am sharp." were her exact words to Liena and Lyra.

Loan was often forgetful so It was up to Liena and Lyra to make sure she took her medicine on time when the adults were away. The two took turns for the duty and today was Lyra's.

She walked over Loan gently nudged girl awake. The blond girl's eyes didnt fully open, but she did sit up-it seemed her body was on autopilot. When Lyra handed her the pill the girl dropped it in her mouth. She held out her hand, and Lyra gave her the glass of water.

When Lyra exited the room and stumbled upon Lacy in her usual running attire; a tank top, some running shorts and sneakers. Lacy stared at her as if she was caught in the middle of a crime.

"Um hey cuz."

Lyra gave the other girl a small smile."Hello Lacy. Off on a run?" Lacy and Aunt Lynn always did runs early in the morning togther. Lyra knew Victoria used to accompany them, but the runs had always proved far more taxing on the little girl, than her mother and sister.

Lacy nodded to Lyra's question. "It's important to stay in shape no matter. Miss one workout might as well miss a hundred." Lyra recognized the last part to be one of the frequent saying of Aunt Lynn.

"Do you want some company?" Lyra knew her body would hate her tremendously for this. But she also knew this activty of her cousin's was much about bonding as it being about literal exercise. Doing it alone would be hard for the girl.

Lacy looked relived at the offer. "That'd be awesome Lyra. Today we're going to moderate run."

_2 hours later_

Lyra was right; her body did hate her. Lyra upon entering the house immediately flopped down on the couch. Her body screamed in agony once she and Lacy returned to the House. That 'moderate run' turned out to be six mile run. Lacy was barely out of breath and was already doing some stretches when Lyra entered the house.. "You know you're not supposed to just lie down after a run."

"Thank you for the advice Lacy." Lyra managed to respond, but she did not move an inch from the couch.

"I appreatiate you coming with me Lyra. It'd be kinda lonely if I did it alone. I would've asked Victory, but my mom said to leave her alone about this sort of stuff. She said Victory isnt built for it. "

Lyra did the best approximation of nodding she could given her physical state.

"That's very considerate of you Lacy. If you_" her body screamed for her not too finish that sentence. Nonetheless she continued, "If you want I could run with you again."

The girl beamed at the question. "That'd be awesome Lyra! I'll whip you into shape."

The girl continued to prattle on how Lyra was making the best decision for her body. Her body would disagree, but looking at the smile on Lacy's face dispelled any sense of doubt for her offer.

Lynn walked into the living room wearing a robe that had couple of stains on it. "Ah you two are up. Good. Wake up your cousins. It's time for breakfast. Then we can could discuss how you will conduct yourselves during your stay."

* * *

Lynn recognized his greeting towards the children wasn't great. He should have gotten the house rules right out the gate, but he found their presence too much to deal with it at the time. He thought he was prepared to meet them. He knew they were coming. But seeing them in person was still too much.

Lynn absolutely hated looking at them. Most looked too much like their mothers to an absurd degree.

Even the ones who didn't like their mothers seemed to adopt their mother's gimmick. The boy's attire screamed Luna.

Worst of all, it seemed the universe had placed some cosmic joke on him by having his children repeat the exact paradigm of his children; one boy and a whole lot of girls.

He supposed it could be worse. They for the most part appeared healthy enough-he wondered if Lisa was responsible for this or it was just good fortune. In any case, he'd be granted a fuller picture on any health defects once he's been transferred their medical files, but tor right now, they at least appeared healthy. Well, with the apparent exception of one girl who he knew to be one of Jr's. The girl had a tooth that stuck outside her mouth. She was the hardest to look at.

He enjoyed the prospect of talking to them even less. Nevertheless, he knew he'd have to if he wanted to better care for them. Lynn was not a man who'd shirk his responsibility once he accepted it.

So he stood up from the head of the table and began to explain his thoughts on the new living situation.

"Ok, now that we've all been well-rested and well-fed. We can get down to business." that was a lie in part. Lynn dreamt of his children. More aptly, he had a nightmare about their last moments, with him being there but not being able to help them. When he awoke, he was not anymore at ease. His mind went into constant ponderance on questions he knew he'd never have answers for. What did they say in the end? Did any of them call for him? Did any of them hate him? Did any of them finally in their last moments realize he and Rita were right?' These are the questions that assaulted him. He knew it wasn't rational. He could not have done anything. So what if they hated him? He never gave them cause too, and he had tried hard to help them.

Lynn grounded his teeth. Stop thinking about that. He had business to get done.

"First off, call me Lynn. I'll be upfront; I'm no more happy with this predicament than any of you are, but so long as the rules of the house are followed, then I'll leave you alone. Do you understand?"

The kids nodded. Good. This was going good.

"I'm going to need some of you younger ones to reintroduce yourselves. The social worker gave me your names, and I need to make sure I remember them correctly. Also, I genuinely don't know which sibling is with."

He looked to the girl he knew to be his sport's obsessed daughter's brood. Girls he hadn't seen since they were babes "You two, your names are Lacy and Lynn, right?"

The long tooth girl spoke for the pair. "Yep, those are our names." the long tooth girl placed a hand on the other girl's shoulder. "This skyscraper is my little sister Lacy." she then pointed to herself, "And I'm Lynn the third. Though people mostly call me Little and my mother called me Victory. I don't mind what you call me, gramps."

Lynn winched at the last word. "Please, just call me Lynn."

Lynn turned to the group; small blond girls clustered together. The oldest spoke for them. "I'm Leia." Lola's girl put one hand on the cap-wearing wearing girl. "This pretty girl is Lizabeth, but we call her Lizy." she put her other hand on the girl with the plant shirt. "This pretty girl is Lops." Lana's girls.

He turned to the pale suit-wearing girl. "London." Lucy's girl

With a brief nod, he finally turned to the boy. "Lemy"

Lynn did know how to feel about his children keeping the L-name tradition. It was a cute thing when he and Rita had done it, but it seemed his children was giving one last mockery to their parents and the very idea of family.

But in any case, these where the children's names.

"Ok, now that is settled, we could get on to the rules of the house.

Lynn held up a finger.

"Rule one, never go into my room when I'm not there or without my permission. This is just basic courtesy I'm sure your mothers and Uncle taught you. Speaking of rooms there will be no locked or closed doors in this house except mine and obviously the bathroom's. If you don't feel comfortable doing it in public you shouldn't be doing it."

He held up the second finger. "Rule two, you will go to school, and you do your work. I lead a busy life. I do not need to be hassled by the schools because of your nonsense. Apropos of that, you will go to school in two weeks. I trust you'll act appropriately."

He held up a third finger. "Rule three clean up after yourselves. This means Keeping your rooms clean, cleaning off your plates, if you make a mess it is your responsibility to deal with it, you will not leave it for someone else to deal with. You're not animals. I expect you to act civilized."

He held up a forth finger. "Rule four, never waste food in this house. If you don feel like finishing something, save it dont just throw it away. There are children in North korea who'd literally kill for a fraction of the food in this house. Be grateful you're here instead."

He held up his thumb. "Rule five, don't break my stuff. My stuff being this entire house and everyting currently in it."

He held his hand up higher. "These rules are in my opinion easy to follow. I expect we'll have no problem now that I've made perfectly clear what to expect from all of you."

He moved towards the refrigerator which had a piece of paper stuck on it. "Here you will see the daily chores assigned to each of you. I expect you'll not fail to complete them. If you fail to do your duties you will be grounded or worse. We'll rotate who does what every week."

He pointed to Loan. "Girl you're in charge if I'm not here. It's up to you to a make sure everything that's needed to get done gets done, and that your younger cousins behave themselves."

He turned to leave.

There. He got out all he needed to say for the time being. Good job Lynn.

"That's not a good idea." a raspy voice said.

Lynn turned around. It was Luna's girl who apparently spoke. She in addition to looking like Luna sounded exactly like her mother as well. Lynn also realized these were actually the first words she spoken to him in years. The last being when she was a tot. Lynn was glad she didn't adopt her mother's interest in dress too.

Luna's girl repeated her proclamation. "Loan isn't comfortable being in charge."

Lynn shrugged his shoulders. "The girl's nearer to an adult than all of you. And she's Lori's girl."

The brunette's eyes widened. As if what Lynn said wasn't basic common sense. Though he shouldn't be so surprised given their parentage.

The brunette shook her head. "She has issues. Anxiety being a big one. She's not equipped yet to handle the situation."

Lynn chewed on that statement. It appears the inbreeding had effected more than of them. Disappointing, but not surprising.

He nodded in acceptance. "Ok who should be in charge. You I take it? Lynn asked.

Lyra responded quickly. "Or Liena."

Lynn shrugged his shoulders in acceptance.

He turned to leave, but Lyra stopped him. "When is the funeral?"

Apparently he was taking longer than necessary to respond because Luna's girl theighned to ask him the same question once more.

"Mr. Lynn when is the funeral for our mothers and uncle? "

"Just Lynn is fine." Lynn said reflexively, but didn't give an answer to her question.

Lynn... didn't know how to respond to that question. He honestly hadn't considered the fact he'd have to handle the burial of his children.

"That should be a little over a week. My mother made sure her siblings and herself had proper funeral insurance. All you have to do is drive us to the ceremony."

The suite wearing girl spoke with a voice that was monotone. Definitely Lucy's girl.

Ah. Problem resolved. Lynn felt a measure of guilt at having felt relief at the news.

"What about allowances?"

Luna's girl asked "At home we we're each given a stipend for completing chores. Do you think we could get something similar to that?"

Lynn mulled over the idea in his head. He and Rita did give out allowances to their own children. They had initially staged a chore-strike, but it was Lincoln who convinced them through an admittedly great presentation for why it was only practical for he and his siblings to get allowances. Lynn remembered being proud of his boy. He wasn't a genuise like Lisa, but when it came to things he truly be brilliant. It was a shame Lincoln could't use his natural talent to good in the world.

"Ok, you'll each get ten bucks every two weeks."

He turned to leave again."We also need to know when our stuff from our home would arrive. We didn't have much time to pack." Luna's girl continued.

Lynn could concede that this too was reasonble enough question. He replied. "A couple days. I've already talked with a company that would bring what you had over. Now Is there anything else?"

Leni's girl spoke this time. "What's for dinner?" the large girl asked.

Lynn was quick to respond to that. "I planned to make a chicken casserole."

At this the girl smiled. "That sounds great Lynn. Can I help out?"

Lynn could not say he was displeased with the offer for help. Cooking for such a large group of people-and for that matter cooking well-could be a daunting task. But this was Leni's girl after all. Lynn worried that the girl may have inherited her all mother's brains if not looks. "Do you much experience cooking? And if so what have said in regards to your peformance" Lynn inquired. Have you burned stuff before? If so how bad?

Leni's girl smiled again. "I've been cooking nearly all the family's meals since I was twelve." she gave a look as if heavily debating something in her head before continuing, "My mom says_" she winched at the slip, "My mom said I got my cooking skills from you Lynn."

Despite his...feelings towards his second eldest, he couldn't help but feel a bit of pride at his cooking skill being used as a compliment.

"Thank you for the offer."

Lynn then loudly addressed the crowd of children. "I really do have to leave now. My restaurant opens up early, and I've never been one to shirk my responsibility.

* * *

Throughout the day, Lemy became even more frustrated. Everyone kept acting like their moms, and Lincoln wasn't dead. His sister was the worst among them. The first thing she did when Lynn left went over to his stupid chore list and pronounced they should start get everything done. Yeah, our moms and Lincoln are dead but lets just cleaning up the place of a guy who looks at us like we're trash.

It was wrong. Everything was wrong. And he wanted at least someone to acknowledge it.

When they were finished, Lyra called everyone to the room she was staying in with Lulu. She even started the meeting by banging her shoe on the bed; she was standing over to start it off, just like she'd do at home.

"I feel a meeting is in the order given recent events," Lyra said calmly. "It's important to talk about any discomfort you may have over this new situation. So please do so."

Lemy was the first one to speak."Are you guys all fucking insane?"

Everyone with the exception of Lulu and Lyra gasped in shock. Usually, his big sister would be quick to snap at him for dropping any bad words around her. One time when he was eight, she even bent him over her knee and spanked him when he used a particular word he heard on TV to insult another kid.. Admittedly the word was something that rhymed with maggot, and something he'd come to realize was a pretty big insult for people like his mom after having Lyra sit down and explain what it meant. So Lyra had a zero-tolerance policy against swearing from the younger kids. So Lemy took her lack of reaction as evidence she knew his question was right.

"Our moms and Lincoln are dead. We lost our home, and we're living with a guy who wants nothing to do with us. Why the fuck are you guys acting like everything is fine!" he was screaming at the end."It isn't fine stop pretending it is!"

Throughout all this, Lyra merely looked at him. Not with anger. But sadness.

"Lemy, you are right. Half of our family is dead. People who've loved and cherished us are gone forever."

She took a deep sigh. "We will never see a brilliantly prank from Aunt Luane again."

Lois hugged London; the gothic suit-wearing girl rubbed her magic obsessed cousin on the back.

"We will never see Aunt Lisa perfect a brand new invention that would help humanity." Little's eyes started to water at that. Lacy put a hand on her older sister's shoulder.

"I will never get to sing with our mother again. Everything is worse now that they're gone." Lyra said.

"So stop acting like it isn't," Lemy demanded. She was hurt. Lemy knew Lyra loved their mom, so why wasn't she upset about it? Would this be how'd she act if he dies? Ah, Lemy was great little bro, now let's quickly forget about him, there are chores that need doing. The thought of it made him Angry. And though he would never admit it made him scared.

Lyra shook her head, "We're not. That's why we're having this meeting. Everyone has something to say, and we're hopefully going to listen to them. You can stay, or you can leave I won't stop you if you think this meeting is a waste of time, but if you are going to stay you will be silent and respectful when others are speaking." her eyes narrowed and see looked at their cousins. "That applies to all of you."

Lyra's eyes scanned them. "Now, who else would like to get something off their chest?"

No one said a word for a moment. It would be their second-youngest who'd break the silence. "I-I had a nightmare."

Leia looked panicked, "Lops you know_"

Before she could finish her sentence, Lyra cut her off, "Leia it's Lop's turn to talk. You'll get a chance to speak. But, until then you will respect your cousin and allow her to speak. Have I made myself clear?."

Leia looked sour At the shutdown. Nonetheless, she obeyed Lyra, and kept quiet.

Lyra nodded to Lops with a smile. "Continue dear."

Lops still looked nervous as hell. But the little girl continued, "We we're in a scary dark, scary, place and all of you kept leaving and I-couldn't do anything." at this the small girl broke down crying.

Leia wrapped the small girl in a girl in a hug and even glared at Lyra. Lyra did not say anything at first she just walked to the blonde girls and knelt down. "Lops, thank you so much for sharing."

"I woke up thinking last night was a bad dream." Liena said. "Like a really bad dream. I panicked and almost screamed before I came to my senses."

"I'll admit to having trouble sleeping." Little growled out, "I spent the entire night doing quantum physics equations in my head; the ones Aunt Lisa taught told she went through when she was a brat; didn't work that good. I fell asleep only a few hours after Lyra came to wake me up for Lynn's stupid meeting."

London nodded in sympathy. "I had trouble sleeping too. Even after staring at Lois while she slept."

Everyone stared at her with the exception Lois apparently who showed not an ounce of of being disturbed with what just London admitted to doing and Leia who rolled her eyes.

Lemy decided to voice what most people in the room were thinking. "That's uh a bit creepy cuz."

London just looked at him him with a rare smile. "Thank you Lemy."

Lemy did not know what to say to that.

The meeting continued like that with nearly everyone telling the group how they dealt with the news of what happened. Most of them did have trouble in it. Lyra even said she had a little trouble in sleeping They all took a turn throwing some shade at Lynn. Lyra, even chimed in that "Our grandfather does appear to be a difficult man."

Lemy knew this was Lyra speak for 'the guy's a fucking dick!'

He could see that they were hurting. In some weird way it almost made situation a little bit less bad. Almost.

* * *

**Discretion Assured beta-read this. Great guy you should read his stories. Better than mine. Though that's not a particularly high bar to pass.**


	4. Settling In

**I would appreciate it if you could pinpoint what problems you have with this story. It is far from perfect after all There is plenty valid criticism to have of it. Omega-Ultra and Discretion Assured helped make this a lot less bad than it originally was. You should check them out. **

* * *

There were many grand questions that Victory thought about daily. Questions that she has yet to answer truly.

For example; is the multi-verse theory valid, or merely a childish concept; Aunt Lisa believed the answer was the latter, but Victory hoped the former was right; the thought of at least a version of her being tall and strong like her mother was comforting.

She wondered what the best way to terraform all the other planets in the solar-system to Support human life on a mass scale was. Finding a way to remake the gas giants had posed the biggest problem. She also wondered how best to set it up as she would be the queen of the solar system; and wondered if that would have made her mom proud of her. She was reasonably sure the answer to the last question was no.

But there was only one question that Victory had any concern about as she stood in the long line for the bathroom.

Why in great Einstein's mind would such a big house has only two bathrooms? This question plagued Victory's mind as she uncomfortably waited for the line she was standing in to use one of the bathrooms. Logistically it made no sense. At home, there were five. Sure their House may have been a bigger than Lynn's House, but honestly, it still seemed like a design flaw for a home of Lynn's size to only have two bathrooms. Worse yet, the old bastard was hoarding one of them to himself.

Victory dared to ask him why he wouldn't share the only other bathroom in a house that currently had over thirteen people in it. It was utterly unreasonable to keep it all to himself. Old man Lynn just rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, "Of course it's one Junior's girls." before answering Victory's justified question in the most dickish way imaginable. "I'm letting you guys sleep in my beds, and eat my food. Be grateful I'm allowing you to use anything at all in this House. Many children would feel lucky to have one bathroom in their House."

Victory disliked Lynn after that. But she only truly begun to hate him after he told her ahe wouldn't be able to keep wakizashi sword. The one Aunt Lisa gave to her last Christmas. Lynn said she couldn't keep it because he thought Victory couldn't be trusted to act responsibly. It was infuriating; Aunt Lisa(a world reknown genuis), trusted her and she never did anything to betray that trust. She didn't carry her sword around at home, she just kept it on a board in her and Lacy's room at home, and occasionally wore it to feel powerful. But no, Lynn said she couldn't keep it. She begged him, and he stared at her coldly and repeated his declaration.

She started to see why her mom never mentioned the guy. The only good thing about him was his name, which he gave to someone who deserved it more.

Victory wanted to sock the man in his bony face; just like her mother would have, but managed to control herself because the man was the best way to keep the family together; well together, and have a semblance of a normal life. She suggested to Lyra that maybe she could replace Lynn with super realistic android.

Lyra explicitly forbade her from doing any harm on the bastard and said she would bend Victory over her knee and whip her butt if Victory tried.

It was a bit of a overreaction on Lyra's part in the sharp toothed girl's opinion. Victory was only joking — sort of.

Lyra had instituted a nine-minute time limit for anyone using the bathroom to make sure people didn't hug it. It was still mostly first-come, first-served situation though; The only allowances she got for who could skip ahead of the line were the twins to avoid any accidents that could happen.

So for the last five days, Victory was forced to endure the hell of waiting an ungodly amount of time just to clean herself or relieve herself. During this hellish challenge, She often did the only thing that she usually got her mind off of suffering — being a total nuisance to her dear cousins. And as luck would have it, Leia was in front of her, and Lyra wasn't in sight.

"Lei-lei, let me cut you." Victory used her most whiny voice, which was amplified by the seer excoriation of her full bladder.

The little blonde girl gave a massive sneer at the request. "First of all, you're not Lops or Lizy, so you don't get to call me that."

Victory chuckled at that. "But I'm the one who came up with the nickname." It was true. Victory called Leia it when the princess was a tot. Leia always got flustered and prissy at being called it. Victory even secretly videotaped some hissy fits of it to share with the rest of their cousins-with the exception of Lyra, and Liena of course.

Leia scoffed but didn't deny the validity of Victory's statement. She just continued on her righteous tirade.

"Second, why may I ask, would your devious ugly mind think I would give you my spot?"

Victory shrugged her shoulders. "Because I'd make it worth your while."

Leia rolled her eyes at that but waited for Victory to respond. The long-toothed girl said nothing.

"So, what exactly are you offering, Little?" Leia finally relented as Victory knew she would.

"I'll spend more time with you."

Leia's shocked face was more than a little entertaining. "Have you've finally scrapped the last bit of sanity in your head? I just told you I don't like you."

Victory nodded. "Of course you don't like me. You love me."

The princess rolled her eyes. "Tell me, in your world, are you tall with normal teeth as well?"

"Nope, I'm my normal awesome self. The one you just love so much."

"I do not love you!" Leia hissed out while balling her hands into little fists.

Victory gave a dramatic gasp at the declaration. "But we're family!"

Leia shivered in abject disgust. "That's possibly the cruelest thing you've ever said to me."

Victory rolled her eyes. "When have I ever been the slightest bit mean to you?"

Leia's shocked face was priceless. The small tyke then went over a long list over all the many fun things, Victory has done to her over the years. Each one quite frankly more beautiful than the last. Some of which Victory has honestly forgot, but was still delighted to hear about again. By the time they had reached the bathroom door, Leia was still going, appearing to have forgotten they were standing in the bathroom line. Victory managed to skip in front of the princess.

"Leia, give me a moment I just need to use the bathroom real quick."

The princess groaned. "Fine, but if you think that I'm done, I'm not even half-way." She wagged her finger in Victory's face. Victory tried giving it a little bit, the girl jumped back, and cocked her hands up in fists. Victory gave her a toothy smirk before she entered the bathroom and locked the door without a second thought. She put her ear to the door and waited a couple of seconds.

"Little!" an enraged Leia shouted.

Victory smiled.

* * *

Lynn set down documents that had been finally transferred to him on the bed. Copies of his children's wills.

It was good enough news, mostly. His kids left Trust-funds for all of their kids; most with reasonable conditions;

All of their kids would only get most of the money after getting a college degree and reaching the age of 25.

They had also even set up college funds, which held amounts of money tremendously in them.

Lynn was not an unreasonable man regarding his children. He recognized them to be perverts and unrepentant ones at that. But that did not mean Lynn was blind to some of their virtue. Although he would never boast it as he once did, he could see they were intelligent(even Leni in her way). They were all immensely talented in things they loved; he may not be an expert in fashion or music or most of his daughters' ambitions and interests, but even he could tell children were great at them.

It was just that they could be unreasonable; case and point their insane want to fuck each other.

Lynn learned they could be unpredictable.

It was a relief to him to discover most of them had acted responsibly in terms of their kids, especially regarding the funding of their education.

Lynn would have paid for all the girls to go to college if their parents hadn't put money away from it. But he would prefer not. College is expensive.

His older daughters qualified for scholarship grants, and that certainly helped, but it was still taxing; well, it was at least it was before he discovered what they were doing. He and Rita had threatened to cut them off from any of their parent's money if they didn't admit what they did was wrong, agree to go to therapy, and stop the abuse of their brother. But only after days of pleading for them to act rationally. Their daughters had refused. Lori dared to even declare to him, "You literally can't stop love." when he and Rita tried to put their foot down. He wasn't even angry at the time. More genuinely befuddled for how his daughter could be so proud of what she was doing.

When Lincoln and younger daughters left, he and Rita tried the same tactic; if they wanted penny from their parents, they'd have started acting reasonably. It didn't work. He didn't know if anyone besides Lisa earned a college degree in anything.

However, there was some seemingly lousy news

Junior's oldest girl didn't have a college fund. Even Leni had made sure when the time came; her daughter would be able to pursue higher education. Junior set up a college fund for her youngest. It was odd.

Then a troubling thought emerged in his head. What if Junior's oldest couldn't go to college because of her mental faculties?

Nothing in the girls' medical files revealed anything physically wrong. Mentally sure, he found out Lori's girl did have issues. The girl had a general anxiety disorder and OCD. Weird. None of his children were even especially shy about anything, except Junior's oldest, who had a tooth abnormality which didn't seem as serious as he feared.

What if he missed something in regards to her?

After a few minutes of going over his copy of Jr's medical file once more, he could see nothing in regards to her being 'special' or having any particular problem that would make college an impossibility. He'd find out what the issue was.

He walked out of his and Rita's bedroom and made his way up the stairs to see a person who might be able to answer his question. He did not go up the stairs often. Since his children moved out, there was the very little point: his kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom, all the things he needed where downstairs.

He and Rita talked about converting a lot of the bedrooms into something else. An exercise room for Junior and Lucy's room(though neither of the parents truly believed it would have a lot of use), they discussed making Lori and Leni's room into a knitting room(for Lynn of course), Rita once said she thought of making Lily and Lisa's room into a woman cave. They decided they should make a regular closet out of Lincoln's room again. But he and Rita never did anything.

When he finally made his way up the stairs, he saw the sharp-toothed girl was concerned about exiting the bathroom. Lola's girl appeared to angry at her older cousin for some reason.

But the interaction didn't appear to be escalating to violence, so he left them be for the time being, and went to the room he knew to be housing Luna's girl.

The girl was rocking and singing to Lisa's baby with a smile on her face. When she realized Lynn had entered the room, her smile dropped. The girl was respectful enough, and besides Leni's girl had been the only one willing to speak to Lynn without being prodded first. He could tell she felt no more warmth for him than most of her siblings. Dealing with him was merely something the role she has accepted as a leader demanded. He could admire that, at the very least.

"Is Junior's oldest mentally disabled?" Lynn asked bluntly. "Is there any reason she wouldn't be able to attend college?"

The girl stared at him. Then the girl started laughing.

It was the first time he's ever heard her laughed.

When he failed to join in, she quieted down, but she still held a small smile.

"Victoria is the most intelligent person in this House." she said, "I'm not exaggerating. The only reason she still goes to regular school is that her mother wanted the girl to have a normal childhood. Aunt Lisa said Victoria was even smarter than she was at that age."

At this, Lynn's eyes grew wide. Smarter than Lisa? That was hard to believe. Especially given it was one of Junior's girls. His sport's obsessed daughter wasn't stupid by any extent, but she often balked at anything she considered "nerdy". Yet, at the same, it made sense for why there was no money put away for college for the sharp-toothed girl. He and Rita had initially set up a college fund for Lisa. But by age three, the girl had proved that she would be able to pick any college she wanted. She won Junior Nobel prize, after all, so he and Rita had just put the money towards Lily's college fund.

"I see." he turned to leave but stopped. "Is there anything that you should tell me in regards to your cousins? Any potential problem any of them may have? I'll probably find out eventually, so it'd be best to tell me now."

Lynn hoped the girl said no.

"I know this may sound strange." Lyra began, and Lynn's heart skipped a beat, "But Lulu is a mutant." It was Lynn's turn to stare at the girl. He tried to discern if the girl was serious or joking. If the latter, his opinion of the girl would go down. If the former, he figures the girl is crazy, and probably needs to take the baby away from her as well as get Luna's girl some meds.

"It's hard to believe, but it's true. X3-73 show him all your legs." with that the older girl dropped the tiny bundle in her arms. Lynn rushed to catch the infant, but before he could things long, things that looked like spider legs sprang from her back to stop her fall.

He backed up immediately, horrified at what he just witnessed. He knew incest could lead to some defects in people, but this was obvioulsy well beyond that.

"She's not dangerous to any extent." Luna's girl hastily said. "Aunt Lisa said some experiments she did had effected her pregnancy. She told Liena and Me in case she did something like this while the adults were away. Just so we could respond effectively. She's never hurt anyone, and won't do anything that weird unless prompted to by family after being referred to as X3-73 or in danger. She'll act normal again if you call her Lulu and tell her to." The girl then stared at the monster and held out her arms towards the creature. "Lulu be a cutesy baby." and with that Lisa's thing sprang to her sister's arms, retracting the long legs from her back on the way. She snuggled against the older girl's chest, looking like any other infant.

Lynn did not know how to process this. He knew his science-obsessed daughter had little problems in the way of ethics, especially concerning science. Lynn still remembers her nonchalantly gathering pieces of hair from her family to study the possibility of cloning them. Just so as she put it, "Have backups" in case anyone croaks. But this...to do something that could make a baby this was simply evil.

Lyra looked at him nervously. "Is this going to be a problem Lynn?"

The man was tempted to say yes and that he's calling the FBI. But looking at the baby's peaceful expression as it was rocked by her big sister stopped him "She really won't hurt anyone? She'll have to be left at a daycare while I'm at work and you're at school"Luna's girl vigoursly nodded.

Lynn sighed. "So long as she doesn't hurt anyone she could stay around" Lynn said reluctantly.

Upon leaving the room, he discovered the new house genius and Lola's girl wrestling on the ground. Luna's girl may have said the sharp-toothed girl was as smart as Lisa but all he could see was Junior.

"That all you got, Princess?" she asked after pinning the younger girl.

The sight of the long-toothed pinning her younger, weaker sibling, and taunting them reminded Lynn of the scuffles his sport's obsessed daughter and Lincoln had when they were kids. Though admittedly, the small blonde girl was putting up more of a fight than Lincoln typically did.

"Break it up," he barked.

Junior's oldest jumped from the ground, releasing her hold on her sister. Lola's girl got back to her feet and glared at the other girl. The girl just gave a mocking grin so much like Junior's.

"You're so much like your mother," Lynn told the sharp tooth girl. She stared at him as if he was crazy.

After what he just saw with Lisa's child, he didn't if she'd be wrong.

"That's probably the nicest thing you've ever said to me." the girl finally said.

* * *

Loan was in Lynn's basement doing one of the few things she has a fraction of ability in, playing video games. One might look at her weirdly for her choice of location. But she had a perfect reason to be down there and alone.

Everyone else was upstairs.

Loan was not a social creature, even in regards to her family. She did not have a shared room like most of her cousins did at home-the only other kid who didn't was Lemy. And Lemy only really started sleeping in his room the year prior. She, however, had been sleeping in her family's basement for years. She knew some people might think that's weird, but it was far more comfy for her than when she used to share a room with Liena. She hoped her cousins didn't take offense-she did love them. It was just that she didn't feel as comfortable doing what she liked when others were around her. It was weird. She knew it was weird. It just felt like they were judging her. Judging her habits, judging her body, dissecting her with their eyes, and seeing how willfully worthless she was. She felt wrong. She was glad she finally could set up a room down there. Lynn had finally gotten the rest of her and her cousins shipped to his abode. He only got two of the mattresses, so no one had to share a bed anymore.

"What are you playing?" A familiar monotonous voice piped up.

Loan gave an undignified yelp, her hands fumbled, and she almost dropped her phone.

She turned her head and tried giving a small smile.

"Hey, London didn't hear you come in."

London merely nodded.

"Well, I'm just playing some Pokemon."

London nodded again. "Lyra told me to tell you to help Lemy wash Lynn's Van. She says you can't just stay in the House."

Loan groaned in annoyance. "Do I really have to?" Loan asked, not being excited with prospect of leaving the House.

London sighed. "I hate the day too Loan. But Lyra wants you to get out of the House to some degree. And she told me if you failed to come out in a timely manner, I have to take your phone, and run. I already have your phone."

Loan looked at her hands and realized her phone was missing from her hands, and London's.

London marveled at this. "How did you_"

"Lois has been showing me a little sleight of hand." her cousin explained.

"Are you going to get going, or should I get disappearing?" Lois asked her.

Loan got up from the bed, which prompted London to hand over her phone.

Loan, with great reluctance, proceeded to come up with her new solitary domain.

As she reached the top of the stairs, she looked back to see if her younger cousin was following her.

The girl was nowhere to be seen, of course. How she did it, Loan was too afraid to ask.

"Over here cuz," London said from right behind her. Loan jumped slightly. Due to her being on the basement step, this was noticeably a bad thing. Or at the very least would be if her suite-loving cousin hadn't grabbed her and kept her from falling backward.

"I'm sorry, Loan. I forgot my mother's rule about not doing this sort of thing when people could fall over." actual worry had seeped into London's voice.

Loan tried giving what she hoped to be a reassuring smile. "It's ok London, we all make mistakes. Just be careful, please."

London nodded and skittered off to do whatever London does.

When Loan got to the front yard, Lemy was washing the windshields; she smiled at Loan and handed her a towel to get scrubbing.

He handed her a wet rag, and for the next half-hour, the two just cleaned the Van.

"This thing is a piece of junk of, huh?" Lemy said, rubbing furiously on a stain on one of the doors.

Loan did not think it'd be nice to agree with the statement explicitly.

"It could be better." Loan meekly said, scrubbing a windshield.

Lemy still trying to get rid of the stain. "I mean, our Van wasn't especially cool, you know with the 'loud and proud' thing on its side, but it still didn't look it'd fall apart if you'd use it."

Loan could not say she didn't feel similar in regards to their new primary mode of transportation.

The thing was old, smelly, and although she wasn't mechanic like Aunt Lana, she could see that the VanVan was well past its natural life.

"I did like our old van a little more." Loan meekly agreed.

"A little?" Lemy asked a tone conveying a sense of finding what Loan said being ludicrous. He managed to scrub away the stain finally. With a look of mild satisfaction, the small boy moved on to working on the doors.

"Come on, Loan admit it; this thing sucks," Lemy demanded.

Loan frowned, knowing the boy would bother her until she'd agree with him. "I suppose it does suck just a bit."

"This Van is a family heirloom girl. Show it some respect." Lynn piped in from the porch, having just decided to come out during the worst possible time for Loan.

Loan's face became flustered. "And it's great, Lynn." she put her hands up in a sign of submission.

She did not like getting into a confrontation. She felt the easiest(also safest), course of action was to give up whatever the person who was mad at her wanted to avoid a bad outcome for herself "I think it's awesome. Best Van in the world!"

At the corner of her eye, she saw Lemy roll his eyes.

Lynn did not seem to buy her lie but didn't press her on it. Instead, he went over to the hood of the car and pressed a hand on it.

"Vanzilla has been in the Loud family for generations. She'sbeen passed down from father to son since my grandfather. Hell, she was with me on my first date with my wife, she drove me to my wedding. I love her. "

Loan marveled at the show of affection. It was far more than her grandfather has shown her or any of her cousins. Heck, he still referred to the girls as just 'girl' and Lemy as just 'boy.'

Up until this moment, she thought Lyn Loud Sr was simply a man incapable of love. It was honestly weird seeing him being open to showing his emotions. It was kinda insulting that he'd see a rusty old van as more worthy of such affection than his own grandchildren. She glanced at Lemy. A look of annoyance had crossed his face. CpLoan guessed he was thinking the same thing. She knew she had to speak before he said something reckless.

"So does that mean you'll give the Van to Lemy someday? He is the only boy in the family." that was a genuinely dumb thing to ask. As soon as she said it, Lemy scornfully pronounced, "I don't want it."

The look on Lynn's face didn't seem annoyed at the declaration. If anything, he looked...relieved?

"That's fine. The boy doesn't need to take something that so obviously fails to live up to his high standards." Lynn said. His tone didn't carry a whiff of anger.

Loan wanted to ask why he was so calm after his grandson said he'd not continue a tradition Lynn expressed such fondness of. But was too afraid to ask. Might get him mad at her again.

Lynn examined the work Loan, and Lemy had been doing with a critical eye. He finally grunted.

"Well, she looks well enough now, and I have to go to the store to stuff for dinner."

"You're welcome," Lemy said in a sarcastic tone.

Lynn just looked at him. "I didn't say thank you, boy." before getting in the Van and driving away.

* * *

Lemy was in Lincoln's old room doing what he and his mom did best. Rocking. Albeit not as loud, he usually did because he didn't feel like dealing with crap from his cousins. So he was smoothly rocking. He found the existence at old man Lynn's house slightly less terrible once all his and his cousin's stuff was shipped to them. Because he finally got his hands back on his fender-the guitar his mom when he was 6-years old, and best gift a boy could ask for, He was going to be an awesome rockstar one day despite the complaints from his haters-his haters being some of his cousins who have no taste in music. His mom said he was great, and that's all that mattered. Whose he's going to believe? His mother-a super famous rockstar who made loads of money because so many people recognize her awesome skill or his snooty cousins?

Lemy may not have had some brainy nerd like Aunt Lisa or Little, but he knew it was smart to listen to the experts rather than the people who have no experience in what they're talking about. It was was just basic common sense. Now, if he wanted to be a snooty princess, he'd go to Leia.

If he wanted to be a mad scientist, Lemy would go to Little.

If he wanted to be generally creepy he'd go to London, Lemy would go to his cousins if they had something useful to say and consider listening to them. Because say one thing about Lemy Loud say he's a reasonable guy. And reasonable people listen to the experts. But none of his haters are experts in music, so he doesn't have to listen to them.

Besides, Lyra always said he was getting better and keeping practicing. She wasn't a rocker like him and mom, but she was great at music; even their cousins had admitted she had the skill(probably because they were afraid of her), and she was annoyed about how it's essential, to be honest. She wouldn't lie to him about this. To him. If she thought he was as bad as his stupid cousins, she'd be honest.

Aunt Lily also said his playing was cool. And she was his coolest Aunt. The one who didn't treat him like some kid. So that's like three really great people who recognized his talent right there. They wouldn't all lie to him; Unless they all knew how it would hurt Lemy to tell him the truth.

Lemy shook his head to shake out those thoughts. His mom said negative thinking like that would just mean bad mojo for him. And he believed it.

For the first time since the news, he's been slightly chilled. Only slightly but still.

The situation still sucked, but at least he was miserable with his stuff. Aunt Lola said that it was better being loaded and sad than broke and unhappy or something like that. He could see what she meant by that now once he was finally able to decorate Lincoln's room with his Mick swagger and Smooch posters that his mom and Lincoln gave to him.

Being surrounded by all that rock felt right. He wasn't happy, but he was surrounded by things that made him happy, at least. That had to mean something.

He closed his eyes and imagined his mom was in the room with him, cheering him on. Lemy brushed his eyes when they began to water, and continued on continued strumming. He only stopped when Lyra knocked and told him to open up his door. Lemy rolled his eyes, but got up, and opened it anyway knowing full well he was in for a lecture for breaking Lynn's dumb rules.

Lyra went over to the bed, sat down, and patted the spot next to her. Lemy sat down.

"You're getting better," Lyra said in the same encouraging voice she always did after he played.

Lemy smiled broadly at the praise. Lemy knew he was great, but it was still nice to hear someone else see he wasn't wasting his time.

"You're not supposed to keep doors closed or locked," Lyra said, finally being the usual buzzkill he knows.

Lemy shrugged his shoulders and gave the best defense his mind could come up within a short notice. "It's a dumb rule." he laid out.

Lyra rolled her eyes at Lemy's reasonable argument.

"It's a rule and not an exactly bad one at that," Lyra said.

"We didn't have it at home." Lemy groaned in annoyance.

"This, unfortunately, maybe our new home now," Lyra said with the ability not to grimace. Lemy starred at her as if she was ludicrous. He knew Lyra wasn't lying, but she was still wrong. She could get odd ideas in her head.

"This isn't home," Lemy said through gritted teeth.

He took a deep breath to help calm him down before continuing.

"Home has our aunts, home has Lincoln, home has m-mom!" explained in a calm, rational way he could. He only really started screaming at the end. A great show restraint, in his opinion.

Lyra shook her head. "In any case, it's Lynn's House, and we're living here. Our mother taught us to respect the places owned by others."

Lemy groaned. "Come on; I just closed the door because I didn't want to suffer any of the whinings of some of the lose_" Lyra's eyes narrowed. Lemy recognized he had to choose his next words very carefully. "I mean, I didn't want to bother our super cool cousins with my music. So really, when you stop to think about it, I'm being considerate." Ha. Good backtrack, Lemy.

"You never seemed to have a problem with playing at home. " Lyra sounded confused.

"Mom was at home." Lemy pointed out again.

Lyra just looked at him. Lemy sighed, knowing he had to continue. "Mom, was there to cheer me on. You know to tell me how good I am. "

"I compliment you lots of times." Lyra said quickly, "I mean it too, Lemy."

Lemy nodded. "And that's good, but when mom did it was kinda better." He grimaced as soon as he said it. Lyra didn't look mad, but he still felt stupid. It was just hard to say what he needed to say sometimes.

Lyra just looked at him patiently to organize his thoughts.

"It feels a little bit more I don't know valid or something. I mean, mom became a great star everyone respected. If she said, I was good, that means I'm good. " Lemy said hoping he was making sense.

Lyra smiled at him and gave his shoulder a careful squeeze. "I understand what you mean. Our cousins could be a bit mean spirited sometimes, but you shouldn't let it get you down."

Lemy nodded to his sister. She could get weird ideas in her head, but she could also make sense. She could be reasonable.

"You still need to respect the House's rules." and she could be equally unreasonable.

He grunted.

"Lemy."

"Ok fine, I'll leave my door open," Lemy said.

Lyra smiled at him and patted his back lightly.

"Thanks, Lemy," she said.

* * *

Liena set the goulash and cheese bits down over the dinner plates. Lynn's cooking ability proved to be well worth her mother's praise.

Still, dinner proved to be not as high an affair as it had been at home. It was tense. Everyone was so quiet. At their home had dinner, the time had been a time of constant chatter. No one, besides the adults, was allowed to use phones at the House. If one wanted to seek entertainment, they'd have to talk to their family.

Though it wasn't a rule of Lynn's House, everyone was silent at the table.

And Liena knew their grandfather was a significant part of that reason.

"Tell the kids dinners' ready." the man ordered as he washed his hands in the sink.

"Lynn, could we please talk?" Liena asked.

The man did not turn around but responded.

"What do you want girl?" though she been helping out in the kitchen for days, Lynn still wasn't much warmer to her than her cousins.

"Could you please tell them they could talk during dinner."

He turned to look at her at this.

"They're scared. This House is a new place. They're still trying to get a handle on what's ok with you."

Lynn stared at her for a bit. Liena started to get nervous.

"That sounds-" Liena's heart skipped a beat, "Like a reasonable enough request."

Liena gave him a smile and went to get her cousins.

When everyone assembled, Lynn stood at the head of the table.

"You may talk at dinner," Lynn declared before sitting down. He gave a small nod towards Liena.

The conversations weren't as loud as the old House. But they did happen.

For Liena, it was a good enough start.


	5. Saying Goodbye

Lyra had built up a routine during her stay at Lynn's house.

First, wake up. Lyra was usually crying because of a nightmare where she failed her family.

Next, give Loan her pills.

Go on a run with Lacy.

After the run, she'd get cleaned up and make sure the rest of her cousins hade done as well.

After breakfast, she'd make sure her cousins did their chores.

She'd chastize her younger cousins and brother if she found them bullying each other.

She'd then hold a cousin-meeting where the kids could vent.

Have dinner. Dinner was her least favorite part of the day behind the waking up crying part. The conversations were still somewhat stilted around Lynn even after he said they could talk during it.

Do the same things the next day.

Lyra started to get comfortable with the routine.

She hated the prospect of breaking it.

Lyra knew today she would break it.

When Lynn gave her and Liena the confirmed date for the funeral a couple of days ago, he gave her only one instruction.

"Make sure everyone would be ready when it's time to go."

And prepare them she did.

Lyra made sure all younger girls, except for London, got dressed adequately in black dresses gifted by Aunt Lucy had gotten them and made to promise to wear on special occasions. London wore a customary black and white suite joined by Lemy, who, although typically rebellious when told to wear formal wear, put up no protest today.

Lyra's least favorite Aunt was Aunt Lucy. Lyra still loved the gothic woman deeply, of course; she along with the rest of her Aunts helped raise Lyra and her brother and had been a constant presence in nearly every major event in their lives, and was Lyra knew Lucy would help them in any way she could. But in terms of which Aunt Lyra would choose to spend time with the gothic woman ranked last. It was primarily due to Aunt Lucy's sense of humor. Aunt Lucy liked to scare people. Or perhaps more aptly, she found it amusing how people could get freaked out by her just being herself. Lyra caught the woman quirking her lips in a half-way smirk a number after making a person or group jump in total fright. For each of the children's birthday, Aunt Lucy got the birthday boy or girl in question clothes she said were good enough to wear for a funeral. She always made the same dumb, dark joke. "You're one year closer to death; you should be better prepared for it." Aunt Luane groaned when the gothic woman made it. Luanne The only one who always laughed was London.

Today, although Lyra still couldn't find the joke funny, she could say the clothes did seem suitable for a funeral.

After everyone was suitably prepared to go, Lyra watched her cousins and little brother lounge around the living room in total silence as they waited for Lynn to come downstairs.

Usually, when going to a significant event, she was preoccupied with keeping the younger kids in line. They could be an excitable bunch.

Today most of them were quieter than a mouse. Even Victoria wasn't cracking jokes at one of her cousins' expense. The small girl was just sitting by her sister Lacy rubbing the larger girl's back. Liena held Lulu in her arms and gently rocked the little mutant while standing up. Loan was on her phone watching one of those Japanese cartoons. She was enthralled with the sound cranked up to a ludicrous degree. Usually, Lyra would try to get her oldest cousin to be more sociable in the presence of others. But given what today had in store, Lyra decided to allow the blonde girl her comfort. Leia was brushing Lizy's hair while Lops braided the older blonde girl's hair.

The only one who was talking was London, who was mildly scolding Lemy for his weak attempt to tie his tie. "I've must've shown you to do this a thousand times, and yet I feel I must show you to do so a thousand times more before you get it. Please prove my intuition wrong by paying attention this time." London sighed as she finished the knot for the boy.

Lemy just grunted in response to the chastisement.

Lyra knew today would be one of the hardest days of her and her family's lives. It was the day they'd be burying half of the family.

Lyra dreaded going to the funeral. It would make everything permanent. She'd officially be the leader of her family; that thought

She was just a kid. A scared kid with a moderately good poker faces good enough to trick other scared kids into believing she knew what she was doing. She could pretend to be strong or brave like her Aunt Lori, but it was all an act. Lyra would never say this out loud least she hurt someone's feelings But the blonde woman was quite frankly Lyra's favorite Aunt. The woman always exuded such confidence in whatever she did. Lori was the leader of the family. Whether it be kid or adult, if someone turned to her for help, she'd know exactly what to do.

Aunt Lori also shared Lyra's inclination towards religion. During one of her mom's cross country tours, Lyra, Lemy, and her mother landed in a motel with a bible on its nightstand. Out of curiosity, Lyra opened it and began reading. Lyra tried talking about what she was reading with her mother, but her mother said religion was rubbish, and people should like what they like. The rest of her family was apathetic towards it-most of them said they believed in God but weren't big into religion, some like Lisa thought a god with a vested interest in humanity improbable. Aunt Lucy was pretty spiritual in her own right-and Lyra tried to respect her Aunt's beliefs. It wasn't the type of spiritualty she was interested in learning about, much to the gothic woman's disappointment. The only active worshipper in the family was Aunt Lori. The blonde always was eager to discuss her faith with Lyra. Aunt Lori taught Lyra Christianity, which was about love. It should never be a tool for bludgeon people. It was Aunt Lori and her uncle who rode with her to Church on Sundays. Her uncle tried to stay attentive, but often just fell asleep during the sermons. Aunt Lori was always just as enthralled with the sermons as Lyra was. They discussed their interpretations of what was said after the sermon. They'd participate in the Church's functions together. Heck, Aunt Lori, arranged Lyra's baptism.

Lyra hoped to be someday half the woman Lori was.

She knew wouldn't be.

Lynn came downstairs and was his usual sympathetic self.

"Get in the Van, we're leaving now." the old man announced before heading out the door.

Lyra and her cousins followed their grandfather and got in the van.

The vehicle did not start after the first turn. Nor the second. By the fourth attempt, Lyra worried the van wouldn't start, and they'd be late for the funeral.

"Come on; I know you could do it," Lynn muttered to the van, massaging the wheel. "Vanzilla, girl, please don't act up today, old girl."

He counted to ten before trying it again, and luckily this time, the old machine roared to life, and they were on their way.

"I hate this thing," Lemy muttered beside her.

She quickly shushed him, but Lynn heard Lemy's comment. Her grandfather spoke to the group. "Anyone who has a problem with Vanzilla is free to walk to whatever it is they need or want to go." he pronounced, "But I will not tolerate anyone disrespecting her while getting a ride from her."

Lemy opened his mouth, seeming to make a retort. Lyra glared at the boy. Lemy closed his mouth and looked down.

Lyra put a hand on her brother's shoulder and smiled at him to comfort the boy.

He did not smile back.

It hurt just slightly. But she wasn't surprised by it

* * *

The Church that Lynn parked out in front looked nice in comparison to the ones he saw at Royal woods. His children had moved away from him and Rita to town 20 minutes away.

Lynn always figured he'd die before his wife. He was older and less in shape. Before Lynn and Rita had Lori, the man even smoked daily; it was a habit Lynn kicked out of a sense of duty to his family, cigarettes killed, and Lynn wanted to grow old enough to see his baby girl grow up to be a woman. If he knew what she'd become, he'd probably have kept smoking.

He always imagined his children would be the ones to attend his funeral. It was the natural course of the world for children to die before their parents. Lynn feared the possibility of getting ownership of all his and Rita's possesions when they died so much he changed his will to make sure they got nothing shortly after Rita's death. They've taken enough for it as is. He made sure his will would allocate his assets to a beautiful group-the Rape, Abuse, Incest, Network formally known as RANIN. He thought it'd appropriate that all of his money be used to help rape and incest victims. Lynn also took solace in the fact it'd probably be seen by his children as one last dig by Lynn from beyond the grave. It was. But it wasn't just that, he legitimately wanted to help make a world a better place. If he couldn't help his children, perhaps he could help others.

He never imagined he'd attend his wife and children's funeral.

Lynn admitted had been a while since he went to Church. There never appeared to be much reason. God was everywhere, so anything you could ask him, would be heard just as loudly in a church as it would on the street, or in the comforts in your own home. Why must he dress in a suit to hear some man lecture give the same talks he'd provide all year round? It just didn't appeal to Lynn. There was also the fact He was never that religious. He believed in God; parents were Christian and taught him prayers, but they had little esteem for organized religion. They Found it too divisive. In their view, Jesus loved, so all one should do is show love to those around them. He taught his kids to be kind to others in general. In his mind, this was the only important thing.

It fell to Rita to teach the kids their prayers.

Rita was always more religiously inclined than him. She came from a proud Catholic family. Rita's parents ever made sure she went to Church every Sunday. She never pressed him to convert or anything and didn't try to get the family to make the trek to a church, but he knew her faith was valuable to the woman.

The last time he went to the Church was with Rita. It was the Church she went to as a girl, and the pastor of the Church had worked with Rita's father during his final days. She thought she needed to see a priest before she passed on-to confess her sins.

Lynn asked her if she told him anything about the children; she told Lynn the priest knew everything. Lynn was horrified at the thought of a relative stranger who knew about his family's dark secrets.

But Rita said she needed to be completely honest in this process. "He can't tell anyone what I told him. And's he's probably heard, worse," she argued.

Lynn seriously doubted the last part.

Rita blamed herself for how their kids turned out. If she had baptized them, or if she had taken them to a sermon, or if she talked to them more if she did something she didn't do, they could have turned out better.

Lynn's heart broke at his wife's self-deprecation. She simply didn't realize they were perfectly fine parents. They raised their children to be good people. Lynn was not the perfect father, but he'd argue he one and Rita was the best mother one could hope for. He kept telling her nothing their kids were doing was their fault. Some people were just broken. But she still felt guilt. Which in turn, made him feel guilty, but not for the actions of his children; of course, he recognized there's nothing he or Rita could have done. Lynn felt guilty at not being able to ease his wife's suffering.

Lynn was surprised to see some familiar faces in attendance at the Church.

He recognized three men in particular. They were the McBrides.

It's been years since he saw Clyde. The man had become a permanent fixture around the house. When Lincoln left, Royal Woods Clyde came over to gage the whereabouts of his friend. Lynn and Rita told him their white-haired son, had moved out. Lynn was not polite when Clyde pressed the issue as to why his best friend left. He essentially told Clyde to mind his business and slammed the house door in his face.

When Lincoln's childhood friend saw Lynn and the group walked up to them. Lynn was prepared for the man to lambast him. Lynn was not ready for the man to hug him.

"I am so sorry. Every one of them was a treasure."

Lynn disagreed. Clyde might as well said the sky was red. It'd be as true. Nonetheless, he returned the embrace.

"Thank you. I know Lincoln would appreciate you coming."

Upon letting him go, Clyde looked towards the children.

Particularly towards the teenagers.

"Hey, my name's Clyde McBride. I was a childhood friend to your uncle and mothers, I'm sure you guys don't remember me, but I never forgot you when I saw you when you were little. I've never seen your moms happier when they were with you. They were truly great people. If you guys need anything, please let me know."

The man took out a card and handed it to Lori's girl. The blonde girl immediately gave it to Luna's girl.

"Thank you; it's always a pleasure to meet a family friend. It's just a shame that these are the circumstances we met." Luna's girl said while holding a hand out to Clyde.

Clyde took her hand and shook. "If you guys need anything, you could try calling me. Maybe I could help out."

The next person to greet him was a friend and employee at Lucy's funeral parlor.

She was a Wicca Witch and professed that knew Lynn's children's spirits were free and unshackled, given the great lives they lived.

A guy from the Humanist society that Lisa was a member came up to offer similar sympathies next.

On and on, Lynn heard from friends and acquaintances of his kids how they were great people and how the world was worse without them there. Lynn felt like a liar when he merely nodded to their platitudes.

He knew they were trying to be sympathetic.

The group eventually sat down in seats reserved for family.

Lynn got more uncomfortable when the Reverend began to offer words on his children. The woman waxed poetically on the kind nature of his family. Mainly she talked about his eldest daughter. Lori was fairly active in the Church. She attended it every Sunday, ran a bible-study group, and was engaged in a ton charity hosted for the Church, Lynn never minded what others believed in terms of religion so long as it didn't hurt anyone else. But rapist and pedophile pretending to be a godly person sickened him. How could a woman who spent so much time in a church where they preach nonstop about what God hates to continue her lifestyle? Was it apart of the mask she and her siblings were presenting to the public? Did she do all of it just for some warped joke?

Lynn was not a religious person, but the thought of people seeking to ridicule others for their beliefs was appaling;Lynn thought he raised his children to be better than that. Even from beyond the grave they continue to dissapoint him.

After the Reverend, more people came, a lot of the same people he expressed sympathy earlier, with many professing the message that his children were such wonderful people.

Eventually, the Reverend asked if anyone else would like to speak. All eyes in the Church came on him.

Lynn walked up to the podium.

He did not know what to say when he got up there.

It felt wrong that such morally decrepit people were being talked about as if they were saints.

They were monsters.

What Lisa did to her child was even far more horrific than anything than he could imagine.

And even in death, he still covered for their lies so far. He felt dirty because of it. If he told the world what they had done, it'd be only a little bit of punishment that they'd deserve.

Lynn covered for his children when they were alive to protect them from a world that'd destroy them. Who was Lynn protecting now? His kids were dead.

Lynn wondered what the reaction would be if he just told everyone there what they're kids had done?

They'd probably stop saying his kids were such great people.

He was tempted to do so when another of Lisa's colleague's at Michigan's top research institute on how the woman has helped saved countless lives. Lisa did not save her mother. The most intelligent person in the world, and somehow defeating breast cancer, was beyond her abilities.

They hurt Lynn.

They hurt Rita.

They didn't deserve to be seen as saints.

The angry man opened his mouth, intending to tell the world everything.

But then he looked towards the faces of the children in his care. At the praise of their parents' accomplishments and character, some of them smiled at hearing what great people they've had been. They were still mostly crying — the only ones who weren't Lucy's girl and Luna's girl. But the pain was evident in the latter's eyes; oddly enough anger seemed to be in the gothic-suite wearing teen. The lie of their parents being great people was comforting to them. He honestly envied their ignorance. They would be devastated if they ever knew the truth. Lynn knew this was one of the worst days of their lives. They've suffered enough.

So instead, he decided just to play the part of a grieving father.

"There is no greater sense of loss a father could feel than that of the loss of his child." he stared at the caskets and the pictures of his children that were above them. The injuries his children sustained made the bodies unfit to be viewed by the public.

"If you would ask me, what was the greatest day of my life I honestly couldn't tell you; every day god gifted my beloved wife and me a new person to love and nurture was the greatest."

"I mean, I know most parents would say their kids are talented, but I feel my kids honestly were possibly the most talented people you'd ever meet. If you need a great dress Leni could make you one in an hour tops-and if you needed, she'd do it for free. it was just the type of person she was."

At this, Leni's girl smiled. The girl always did look like her mother when she smiled. It usually hurt him to see her do so a little, But for some reason, it didn't right now.

"If you needed something fixed, Lana was your girl. She fixed Vanzilla more time than I could count by the times she was 12 years old." Lynn, there were plenty of men who would feel emasculated at being outperformed in being able to do anything mechanical by a little girl. Lynn couldn't careless, especially when it was his girl showing him to be a fool.

"Lisa was probably the smartest person who ever lived. She started doing my taxes when she three. The girl got Rita and me a tax-refund for a couple thousand the first year. Of course, we put most of it towards paying the bills, but we saved some for some fun. My wife and I told Lisa we'd use that money to take the family anywhere she wanted."

And do you know what she said?" Lynn smiled. "A science museum. Her siblings hated it. Rita hated it. I hated it. Museums are boring. But the look of wonder and joy on Lisa's little face was something I loved."

Lynn looked over to the babe in Leni's girl's arms. It's ashamed Lisa couldn't stay that innocent; in the end, she became the biggest monster in regards to Lynn's children.

"Luna was a master at every instrument she got her hands on. The woman could even make the music coming from bag-pipes sound almost half-way decent. Bag-pipes! If you needed someone to give an extremely tacky joke, there was no one better to deliver it then Luanne. She could truly make it sound...a lot tackier than anyone else could."

At that part, those in attendance laughed. Lynn pointed directly at them, "See right there that was a better reaction than most people have had to her jokes."

That last note only prompted more laughter, even from Luane's girl. He thought she looked beautiful.

"Lori always was one to take charge of the situation. The woman never shirked from any sort of responsibility. I remember when Rita and I first left her in charge alone of all her siblings when she 14-years old. Not an ounce of hesitation or nervousness at the prospect of handling nine rowdy kids by herself. When I came home seeing all her siblings tuckered out and in bed, I felt pride. I thought Rita and I were raising a truly responsible young woman." He was wrong, of course.

"Lucy was an empathetic girl. I know to many people she may have seemed emotionless, but she was far from it. The girl was pouring with emotion. She loved comforting those who've suffered a loss. I was there for the first funeral she conducted. It was for a pet squirrel of one of the neighborhood boys. I'll admit I found the thing a little strange. I thought it looked downright weird seeing a 6-year old do this. But as I waited in the car, I noticed something; Lucy was hugging the boy who lost his pet. The kid messed up Lucy's dress with the amount snot and tears he poured onto it, but Lucy did not seem even an ounce concerned with it. She appeared happy after we left the kid's house. I asked her if she had fun, and she said and I quote, 'It was wicked to help someone who needed me.' end quote."

Lucy's girl did not take her eyes off the caskets. She still looked angry for some reason. It bothered him. He did not know why,

"Lola was a Princess. Not in just being prone to be fancy, but in her kind heart. One of her friends in her eighth-grade class had gotten cancer. So Lola managed to get the entire class to shave their heads in support of the girl. Lola never bragged about it around the house. Quite the opposite-she complained about having to cut it for; I assumed she mostly did it not to be isolated from her class. I only learned that the whole thing was her idea from her teacher during a parent-teacher conference. I asked her about it. She said she didn't want to get attention for what she did. She wanted to show her friend support."

Lola's girl was full-on sobbing. The twins by her side were petting her in an attempt to comfort the girl. lynn's heart ached to look such a display,

"There was never a fight Junior ever backed down from if she thought she was in the stubbornness gave Rita and me the biggest headache yet at the same time it was her most excellent quality. I remember being called by her Highschool and told the girl had been suspended for a week; this was during finals week mind you, so I thought it even more irresponsible for Lynn to get in a fight. When Rita and I asked her why she got into a fight, I expected something petty like someone said she did a lousy throw at practice.

Junior said some boys were harassing a couple of girls who were kissing in public. She then told us her only regret is that guys she beat still had their teeth. Rita and I still grounded her. Then after she was grounded Rita and me took her to a Sport's bar to celebrate what she did." Lynn saw Junior's girls light up with a little smugness at hearing the story of their mother being a hero.

"Lincoln called himself the man with a plan. The nickname was warranted. The plans weren't always good. Often, they backfired, but my boy was the most innovative guy you could meet. Put him in a bad situation. He'd create 50 plans on how to get out of it before the average guy would know they're in a bad situation."

He took a deep breath. "On my forty-first birthday, they scrambled around to get me a present after made me a scrapbook of beautiful moments. I had the luxury of having as a father. They spent over 700$ after getting this insane idea that what they had made wasn't enough." Lynn laughed at the absurdity of the notion. "It was the perfect gift. I'm not ashamed to say I cried with happiness. "

Lynn talked more of some of the various adventures his family got into before he and Rita learned, and how proud he and Rita were so proud of them

The weird thing was that he wasn't lying. Despite everything, he loved his children. He was sad that they were gone, and despite everything they did, he felt the world was worse without them.

His eyes started to blur. He put a finger to his eyes and saw that he was crying.

He looked towards his grandchildren. "They were truly great people whose presence will be missed by the world." That was a lie. But it was a lie; everyone else needed to hear right now. It was a lie the children in his care deserved to hear. It was a lie he would've loved to be able to believe in as well.

Lynn directed his eyes towards his grandchildren. "I know they loved their children, just as much as I loved them."

He honestly believed that was the case for at least many of them. Clyde was right. His oldest girls and Lincoln never looked happier when they were with their children.

When he saw Luna singing to her daughter and son, or Luanne was dressing up as a clown to amuse her girl, or Lori starring her daughter and saying "She is literally perfect." he thought they looked beautiful, that he couldn't help but remember feeling pride for them.

They never complained about their lot in life, never screamed, it was unfair. He thought, at the very least, was admirable until he learned about what they were doing.

"They raised good kids." Lynn could not say he loved them. But they mostly seemed nice enough even the boy didn't seem that bad.

With that walked back to his seat.

Luna's girl walked up to the podium after him.

"My mother and her siblings were truly great people. They raised me, my brother, and my cousins with nothing but love. They taught us to be kind, strong, resourceful. They drilled into us that there was nothing we couldn't do. I-I know my cousins will make them proud."

With that, she returned to her seat.

Lynn put his hand on her shoulder. "I think you're mother and siblings would be proud of you gir_ ." he stopped himself. "I know your mum and her siblings are proud of you, Lyra."

With that, Lynn saw the girl get misty-eyed. She quickly brushed her eyes.

He was surprised to realize he was telling the truth.

* * *

Victory was a rational person, generally. She took after her Aunt Lisa in only genuinely believing in something if evidence could not support it. Aunt Lisa once said, "Faith is a poor substitute for reason." and Victory took that lesson to heart. All evidence showed her mother and her mother's siblings were dead. She had even cried about that fact so hard her eyes had become dry. It made absolutely no sense for her to expect a miracle to come about as she and the rest of her family arrived at the cemetery to put her mother and her mother's siblings in the ground. It'd be illogical. Aunt Lisa wouldn't have approved; the thought of disappointing the woman who she most looked up scared Victory.

So why was a part of her still hoping to see her mother, Aunts, and uncle to suddenly spring up from their coffins as they were about to be put in the ground forever? Why did she still feel this may be an elaborate prank from Aunt Luane? It was quite frankly irrational beneath her.

But Victory still hoped.

She still had hope as the caskets were set over the burial plots even as the coffins got lowered into the ground.

The small genius felt disgusted with herself that she felt disappointed that they didn't rise before the ground got sealed.

Only then did the last flicker of hope finally go out; it was a relief.

Victory looked over to her little sister and rubbed the girl's back as she sobbed along with the rest of her family. Only Lyra and Lois remained dry-eyed. It was natural seeing Lyra like that. The girl was the strongest person Victory had met besides Aunt Lori and her mother. Lois, however, didn't look her stoic-self. She looked angry.

Lacy was still Victory's little sister despite being so much bigger than Victory. It was the sharp-toothed girl's responsibility to make sure Lacy was ok.

Victory offered her little sister a forced smile that she hoped looked comforting. "It'll be alright. Victoria needed to provide her little sister hope-even if it was a false one.

* * *

After the funeral, Lyra held a cousin meeting to gauge how everyone thought the funeral went.

London was surprised; the first thing that brought up wasn't the most obvious problem with the funeral; the flowers.

"The old man sounded human. Victory, did you replace him with a robot?" Lacy asked.

The small brunette shook her head. "Nope, rather not get my butt tanned by Lyra." Little looked at the older girl. "And the guy is family who I value so deeply."

Why isn't someone mentioning the flowers yet?

Liena talked next. "It's never easy to say goodbye forever. But it was nice to see so many people pay tribute to the finest mother and uncle there was-even Lynn and I honestly thought Lynn hated them. It was nice to see he cared."

At this, the group nodded,

No one was going to mention the flowers.

"The flower arrangement was wrong." she blurted out finally

Her cousins just stared at her. Usually, she'd take pleasure in this, but today their reaction simply frustrated her.

London's mother always talked about her work. Could they still be that dense on the most obvious problems in the funeral they just attended?

"Aunt Lana should have had Gladioli on her casket because she was of such a strong moral character. Aunt Lola should have roses. She loved to be loved. Someone mixed it up, and they got the wrong flowers, places on their coffins." London explained as patiently as she could.

Lemy's response was less than satisfactory. "I-I mean they're just flowers."

It was London's turn to just staring at him. "Those sort of details have meaning!" she snarled at him finally.

Everyone gawked at her.

London did not care. She pointed to the twins sitting beside Leia.

"You, are you seriously ok with your mother's funeral not having the right fucking flowers on their caskets? That she didn't have the perfect funeral. What is wrong with you?" she shrieked.

Before the two girls just starred at her like she was a dangerous animal. Leia got up and marched towards London her face laced with absolute fury. "You don't get to talk to them like that you death-obsessed freak. You better say you're sorry, or I'll give you the perfect funeral." the little Princess growled while balling her hands into fists. Before the pig-tailed girl could get to London, Lyra interceded by placing herself between the two.

Lyra pointed to Leia. "Don't you ever threaten a member of this family like that again We've lost enough." the older girl than spoke to the gothic girl, "London, I know you take funerals seriously but_."

"A person cannot have a perfect life, but they can have a perfect funeral." London declared. It was one of her mother's saying, and London tried her damnedest to live up to it when she got a job. She always wore suits to signal to others that she was a professional.

"If my mother was was in charge of this funeral_," London stopped. Her mother waw here. That was her funeral. And it was imperfect.

Her mother's funeral was imperfect. Her mother truly couldn't get anything she deserved.

"It's so unfair, they deserved better, they all deserved so much more, they all shouldn't be dead."

She started crying, and Lois put around the gothic-suit wearing girl.

"The funeral should have been perfect." London cried into the older girl's shoulder.

"Should have been." Lois agreed.

"They deserved better." London proclaimed

"Absolutely."

"There's nothing we could do for them now."

The old girl pushed London back lightly and looked her in the eye. "Sure, there is. We could try to be good people like they were."

London finally looked up to the rest of her family. "I-I'm so sorry, guys."

Lemy was quick to forgive her outburst. "The day's been rough, dude. I get it."

Leia snared at her first and proclaimed she would beat London's ass if she ever cussed at the twins again. After being cuffed on the head by Lyra, the seven-year-old said she forgave London.

For a minute, no one said anything.

London felt bad at derailing the conversation.

"Can I tell you guys a story?" London asked her remaining family.

Lyra, despite her earlier anger, offered London a smile. "Of course, dear."

"We all know how my mother enjoyed giving others a little fright, right?"

Little chuckled. "Biggest understatement of the year cuz."

London nodded to her small cousin

" When I was six, I decided to give her a piece of her own medicine, strangely enough, succeeded. " at this, her cousin's eyes widened.

London chuckled. "Yes, I know it does seem hard to believe, but it's true. It seems impossible. The woman was as Wicked as they came!" London pronounced. She then proceeded to go into a tangent on how awesome her mother was-she only stopped when Little came over and put her hands on her face. "London focus. You were telling us how you scared Aunt Spooky." her small cousin reminded her.

London feeling a little embarrassed resumed telling the story didn't begin.

"I knew I'd have to get creative when trying to frighten my mother. I had a plan. I'd sneak out and head to the bushes by her funeral-home. When she arrived to work, I'd jump out and scare her. Admittedly this wasn't the brightest idea." I got lost on my way to her work; it was pure dark luck that a police-officer stumbled upon me and brought me to the station. When my mother came to get me the first thing she did was take me in her arms, and cry that she had never been more afraid in her life, and made me promise never to scare her like that again. And that is how I scared my mother."

Lyra was the first one to respond. "That's a beautiful story London." then her eyes widened. She turned to the youngest kids. "Please don't do what London did."

Leia sighed. "I'd only ever do anything London does if I wanted to be weird."

London looked towards and offered the girl a smile, "Thank you, Leia." London meant it too. Being normal would be so dull.

"I have a cool story about my mom too." Lemy piped in.

"Me too!" Lacy quickly said. The sports-obsessed girl began to talk. Lemy tried speaking over her. The two had always liked the chance at beating the other in anything. Who has a cooler story about their awesome mom is a challenge neither could pass up.

Lyra smiled and raised her hand for the two arguing kids to stop.

"Guys, everyone will have a chance to give a story about how awesome our mothers were. And of course, our beloved uncle."

And so for hours, the Loud kids talked about their mothers and Uncle.

Some were funny enough to get everyone laughing. Others were so heartbreakingly beautiful they made everyone, but Lyra tears up.

It made London feel better. Wherever her mother, aunts, and uncle were, she hoped if they were watching, that it made them feel better too.


	6. First Day

"She really won't be a problem?" Lynn asked Lyra as the kids packed into Vanzilla for their first day of a girl smiled as she rocked her little sister. "Lynn it, Lulu is a sweet and lovable girl. She wouldn't hurt a fly." Lyra pushed her arms out to give a better look at the girl's face. "Isn't that right." the small girl laughed. Lyra directed the girl to Lynn. The man was still wary.

Lynn sighed. "I'm going to trust your judgment." Lynn held up a finger. "But if she does something that freaks people out, the blame is on you."

The older man found himself stuck with two toddlers and a baby after dropping off all their siblings to their respective schools.

There was a minor scuffle when he arrived at the elementary school. Lops and Lizy had started for Leia to stay.

The pigtailed girl kissed the twins on the cheeks. "It'll be ok pretty girls. I'm just going to school. I love you so much." with that, the bigger girl gave her sisters a big hug.

His restaurant opened at 7:30, so he needed to drop them off a little early.

They Daycare he had chosen to for the youngest Louds, was the same one Lynn had used for most of his children; Marie's Daycare for lovable munchkins. Also, being affordable, the primary caretaker had always been understood to his children's eccentricities, though Lynn doubted she'd be that calm if Lisa's girl revealed herself.

After parking in front of a small building with the title of the Daycare plastered on top, Lynn went to get the baby and twins. As he unfastened the youngest Loud's car seat, he realized this was the first time he held his youngest granddaughter. She was so soft and small. When she looked at Lynn, she smiled. Weirdly enough, he felt a slight tug on his lips. Lyra's description of her sister being a lovable little girl ringed true.

His eyes went to the twins. While Lizy unfastened herself, Lops had not attempted to do so.

Lynn frowned. "It's time to get out, girl."

The small girl shook her head. "I want Lei-lei," the girl whispered.

Ah.

Lynn sighed. "I know, and I understand. But she has to go to school. She can't be here with you, alright."

Lops pouted and did not move. Lynn was about to try again, but Lizy talked first.

"Lei-Lei said we'd see after school... She wouldn't lie! It's ok, me and Lulu are here for ya little sis." the capped girl chirped.

Lops gave her older sister a look of great reluctance, finally unfastened her seat-belt. Lops' twin took her sister's hand as they made their way to the Daycare. Once inside the building, they were greeted by the sight of a husky old black woman. When she saw Lynn, she smiled and walked towards them.

"Lynn, always a pleasure to see you. And I see you've brought some new friends for my little abode." she reached out and gave Lulu a small pat on the head and crouched down slightly to talk to the twins.

"Hello, I'm Marie. You must be Lops and Lizy." she held out her hands. The twins grasped them, and Marie gave them a slight shake.

"It's awesome to have you. Now we have a couple of rules here, but it's also important everyone has fun. I honestly hope you girls your stay with us." the woman explained. She stood up fully and held out her arms. "Now, I'll be taking that little beauty right there." Lynn, with surprising reluctance, handed over the youngest Loud.

He turned to leave, knowing Marie had things well in hand but stopped himself. He turned back and offered the girls what he hoped was a warming smile. "Marie's a fine woman, girls. Don't worry, she'll take good care of you." and with that, he finally began his trek to his restaurant.

* * *

Leia stood in front of her new class with the smile her mother to do in the face of large crowds. Her new classmates starred back at her with boredom."Hello, my name is Leia Loud, it's nice to meet you all." a few of the kids verbally responded, and some even clapped softly, but that was the extent to the feeling of welcome the class offered.

"Please take a seat next to Natasha." commanded her teacher. A large blonde girl halfheartedly raised her hand. The girl was so big that Leia had to wonder if she were held back a grade or two. Leia nodded, and the small girl went to take her seat. Throughout the teacher, mostly regurgitated things that Leia already knew since she was five. Yes, three multiplied by thirty was ninety. Leia was not a genius on the level comparable to Little, but she could safely say she was beyond her peers. Leia begged her mother to try to get her moved up a couple of grades. The former-beauty queen had been adamantly resilient to her daughter's pleas and said she wanted Leia to have a normal childhood. The problem was that Leia was not normal. She did not fit in with other people, no matter what she tried.

When recess rolled in, Leia was happy to leave the classroom and get some learning done.

Leia decided against playing with the kids. Their interests were profoundly childish, and she feared they'd find Leia's level of maturity to be intimidating.

Leia decided instead of doing something so juvenile chose to take her Art of war book and read by one of the fences. Little had gifted Leia the book last Christmas, given the older girl was her secret Santa. Leia knew Little only did it because the sharp-toothed thought Leia wouldn't read its' contents. Leia proved the older girl wrong, which is itself a great gift.

"Hiya, you're name's Leia right." Leia looked up from her book. A brown-haired older girl wearing a blue hoodie was starring at her. Leia noticed other kids had stopped what they were doing to watch the two.

"That is the name my mother gave me."

"I'm Gwen." the older girl introduced herself." I wanna say it's a real nice ta have ya at are fine little school."

Leia's eyes narrowed. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Gwendolyn."

The older girl laughed. "Not even my ma calls me that. Just call me Gwen." the girl's smile grew, and she held up a finger. "Hey, we're gonna play a game."

Leia shook her head. "Thank you for the offer, but I'm afraid I must refuse." she then offered the bigger girl a smile. Feeling she fulfilled her social-obligation, Leia returned to reading her book.

The blonde got startled when the older girl snatched the book from Leia's hand.

Gwen never stopped smiling.

"Who says I was offering anythin?" before chucking the book over the fence.

Leia got up. "What the heck is your problem?" she demanded.

"So the game I wanted to play is this thing called 'mob.'" the older girl went on as if Leia hadn't spoken.

"Here's how it works-you give me money, and I don't hurt you, sounds fun, right?" the fact the older girl was still smiled added on Leia's furry.

"Now, practically everyone on the playground plays this with me. They usually kick in about three bucks for every week, but you since your the new girl, whatever you have in your pockets will work just fine. For now. I mean It'll be a shame if you're left out. I'm doing you a favor honestly. So how about you just cough up the bucks so you could become a proper member of the community."

The pigtailed girl held a finger in front of the older girl's face. "I will not and if you do not_." Leia was interrupted by a punch to the face that rendered her on the ground.

The brown-haired girl looked down Leia. She was still smiling. Leia, while holding her hand over her cheek, glared at her her assaulter trying to mask the fear that was developing within her. It was not the first time the pigtailed girl has gotten in a physical scuffle. But this new girl hit much harder than Little did.

"Hey, you know when you do that, you kinda look like a Gremlin!"

Leia didn't know what that was, and she starred at the older girl in confusion.

Her assaulter's smile fell half-way. "Well, a Gremlin is like a weird little monster in a really old movie my uncle used to watch with me. It's freaky and well_." she fumbled, trying to explain herself. Her smile dropped, and she scowled at Leia.

"Look, just give me something."

Leia did not relish the prospect of fighting the bigger girl. She liked the prospect of acceding to the bigger girl's highway robbery even less. Leia's mother said never to give what is yours without proper payment.

Gwen was bigger than Leia. She was stronger. But Leia never backed down from a fight, and she would not back down now and humor this brute's attempt at a shakedown. She got up and continued glaring at the bigger girl. "Gwendolyn_."

"I told you not to call me that." the older girl growled, losing all vistage of humor.

"Gwendolyn, I do not believe in giving anything to those who've given me nothing in exchange. " Leia pronounced loudly enough for everyone in attendance to hear. "If you yearn for some of my legal tenders, I'll happily give it to you, but not for nothing. You'd have to earn your reward. My shoes are a little dirty. Maybe you could clean them up with the rag you call a face." Leia finished much to the shock of everyone watching.

The older girl hit Leia in the face at that time. "Are you trying to make me look as ugly as you do? You'll have to hit much harder than that!" Leia sneered before attempting to spear the older girl; it proved to be a mistake as the brute did not budge an inch. Leia tried pounding the other girl's sternum, which only prompted chuckles from the monster. Leia felt a hand enter her pants and yank her underpants in her rear before her assault delivered a punch to Leia's stomach that rendered the pigtailed girl once more on the ground.

"Gremlin, you may sound brainy, but you ain't being smart." the brute remarked from above her. "This could all be over if you just give me something."

Leia spat on the older girl's shoes. She smiled as she looked up at the older girl's face. "That is the only thing I'll deign to give you for free. And I think even is to good for that, you damn peasant."

Gwen reared backed her leg to deliver another blow.

"Gwen!" It was a teacher.

Leia silently thanked whoever went and alerted the proper authorities.

The brute groaned. "Ah, I wasn't done playing yet." She turned her eyes towards Leia.

"This isn't over, Gremlin." she declared. As the teacher finally made her way over.

The teacher pointed a dark-skinned glasses-wearing girl. "Marsha, please take this girl over to the nurse's office."

As Leia and Marsha made their way to the nurse's office, the older girl commented upon Leia's brave display in a matter befitting of Little. "That was immensely idiotic," Marsha said less in chastisement as much as a statement of fact.

"I take it you'd cater to that brute's juvenile attempt at extortion," Leia responded disdainfully.

"Of course. Gwen is vexatious to be certain, but typically leaves those who pay her tribute alone."

Leia found the words the girl used to express herself interesting. Typically she had to dumb down her rhetoric when dealing with those close to her age. Marsha though being a few years younger, was responding with far more intelligence than most 9-year olds Leia has dealt with, "Though I cannot compliment your invertebrate, your Lexington seems rather advanced." Leia remarked.

Marsha shrugged."I prefer to think of it as having an adequate sense of self-preservation. What were in your pockets anyway?"

Leia showed Marsha. The thing she'd refuse to part in the face of such brutality.

"That's a stick of gum." the older girl remarked dryly.

"Indeed it is," Leia responded.

"I cannot believe these words are about to leave my mouth, bu Gwen Miller is right. You sound smart, but it appears to be a superficiality."

Leia rolled her eyes, grabbed Marsha's left, and placed the stick of gum in her hand as they reached the nurse's office.

The older looked at her with a quirked eyebrow. "I thought you would not part from it."

"I never said that. I said I would never give something of mine for free. You escorted me, and for that, I am rewarding you." Leia explained.

Marsha took the gum out of its' wrapper and plucked it in her mouth. "You're a strange little girl Leia Loud."

The pigtailed girl shook her head. "I'm just true to my principles."

* * *

Lemy wished Lynn kept Lemy at his old school. The boy begged Lyra to let him keep going. It was only 25 minutes away. But against all common sense, his older sister said no. He then tried going to Liena-who immediately went to Lyra. His older sister somehow found something wrong with he did.

So he was forced to suffer going attending this stupid place. He almost decided on skipping but wasn't in the mood to be chewed out by his sister again so soon

When lunchtime came around, he sat with his cousins. At his old school, the three pre-teens mostly went their ways. They all had different interests, different friends. Though Lacy, and Little, usually sought the other after class they were siblings, so it was a little different Lemy figured.

They were all doing exceptionally better than him at fitting. Lemy was glad for them, he really was, but he also hated them just slightly at the moment.

"The school's young mortician decided to name me president once I told them who my mother was. She started first in school. I turned them down on the offer for the position. I explained I wanted to demonstrate my value as an individual member." the gothic girl recounted before biting into one of her apples.

After giving one last slurp to her apple juice, Lacy next. "That's cool, London. I know you'll do great. My P.E when he saw our names asked us who our mother was. He kind of stopped the whole class to see how many sports I'd be trying out this year. I asked him how many my mother did when she went here. He said five. I said I'd do six." The girl smiled. "Do you know what he said in response?" the girl started giggling. Lacy nudged her older sister. "C'mon, you tell em; I can't."

Little rolled her eyes and responded drily. "He replied 'But we only have five sports.'"

With that Lacy pounded, the table burst out laughing and rather loudly at that. Lemy noted Little wasn't asked how many sports she played.

As he ate his lunch for the day, Lemy saw something unfortunate. A small blonde girl was barely bigger than Little was bumped into by a giant-sized boy a couple of boys, who, although smaller, were significant as well. .The girl's lunch fell from her tray fell on the floor upon contact with the biggest boy, "Watch it midget!" before continuing on his way, pose in tow.

The girl just stood there. She was starring at what had been something which was supposed to be her lunch. She looked distressed.

Lemy recognized the girl from his English class. Callie. Lemy remembered. Or was it was Bailie. Lemy knew it had something with an E at the end.

The young rockin roller felt sorry for the girl. He got up and went over to her carrying one of the baloney sandwiches Liena made for him. His mother and sister hammered into his head to be generous when he could. He had three sandwiches; he could spare one.

"Hey, that guy is a prick. If you need something to eat, you can have this."Lemy said while offering her the sandwich in his hands.

The girl's eyes narrowed. "Not interested chico." the girl said in a light accent

Lemy waved his hand. "Dude, it's fine. Look one, my cousin always overpacks for my family and me." he pointed to his table with his cousins who were watching with curiosity."Hell, you can join us if you want."

The girl continued to frown but seemed to relax slightly at the sight of the girls. "Ok." with that, the two returned to Lemy's table.

"Hey guy's this is_." he stopped realizing he forgot the girl's name.

"Allie." the girl finished for him. He gave her a smile that he hoped didn't look too awkward.

"I forgot your name too. It was Leny, right?"

The young rocker shook his head. "It's Lemy. With an M."

Little put a hand on her chin. "I don't know Leny sounds right. It says boring white-person."

Lacy gasped into her hands. "He looks like a Leny."

Lemy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, my cousins have a lot of jokes. They're pretty bad, but if you ignore everything about them, they're alright."

"Welcome, Allie. Are you friends with our dear cousin Leny?" London asked, joining in on the negging.

The small girl shrugged her shoulders. "Nah, just a classmate."

Little grinned. "Hmm, you're not crazy then."

Lemy threw up his hands. "Hey, what is this? Beat up Leny day?"

He grimaced, realizing his error. His cousins laughed. He buried his head in his hands. The young rocker peered slightly and saw Allie smiling. It was a small smile, but Lemy thought it looked beautiful.

Lyra fundamentally believed the first day of doing anything was the most important. Aunt Lori told her never to procrastinate in terms of building up a solid reputation in a new place, and she believed her 100 percent.

For this reason, Lyra, on the first day of school, reached out to join Mesa and the Christian-Students club, as well as the Allies for the LGBT+ club.

The teen urged her cousins to follow suit.

Liena joined the culinary club to no one's surprise.

Lois was displeased to discover there was no magician's club-like their old high school had. Lyra urged her magic-prone cousin to start one herself, pointing out that too would look good on a college resume.

She tried to get Loan to join something. Lyra even pointed to a club about those Japanese cartoons the blonde girl was obsessed with.

Lyra's oldest cousin said she wasn't interested. Lyra, although disappointed, was not surprised at her cousin's answer. Loan had always been a solitary person in addition to her other issues

* * *

The brunette worried about Loan. Lyra and Liena would be heading to college soon, but Loan has expressed no interest in what she'd after high-school.

After school was let out, the teens made their way to the Daycare that the twins and Lulu were left, it was about an 8-minute walk from the high school, so it wasn't too out of the way.

When the group of teens arrived at the Daycare, the two tots and Lulu scrambled to get into Liena's large yolk. It was a nice sight to see.

When the group got home, she made sure her younger family members and Loan did their work. Lyra loved her family dearly, but most of them could easily be distracted. They needed a stern hand to keep them on track.

Leia was the last one to arrive home. She was immediately tackled to the ground by Lizy and Lops. "What's wrong with your fave with your face Lei-lei?"

Lyra's face she appeared in front of the girl to check on her faster than Aunt Lucy would appear out of nowhere. Leia had a black eye.

"What happened?" Lyra demanded.

Leia looked down. "I got into a slight altercation at school. A brute wanted my possessions. I told her no, so this happened," Leia pointed to her eye. "It's no big deal," Leia explained.

"Oh no, young lady bullying is not a small deal. I'm calling the school. This should not have happened to you." Lyra declared. She put a hand on her shoulder. "You did nothing wrong."

The little girl glanced at Lyra's hand. "I know I did nothing wrong. But you're bringing at the whole of proportion." the small girl sighed. "I'll get to work shortly. I just have to use the bathroom." she looked towards the twins. "And, I promise to play with you after I finish my work."

* * *

Upon exiting the bathroom, Victory was greeted to a rather unsettling sight, her cousin's face.

Victory noticed in addition to its usual ugliness it was sporting a bruise.

"What happened?" Victory asked.

"None of your damn business," Leia responded before trying to shove past Victory. Keyword tried.

"Come on, Lei-Lei, tell me what happened — going to hear about it from Lyra anyway.

Leia gritted her teeth. "Don't call me Lei-lei, and if you must know, I got into a fight."

Victory nodded. "Did you win?"

"No, the brute was way bigger than me and stronger. I had no chance and was humiliated in such a way that would leave you cackling. There are you happy? Or do I have to go into detail. " the small girl ranted.

"Why did you fight?" Victory inquired.

At this, the girl grew silent.

"Ah, you're embarrassed. I could try guessing the reason. Is it because the attacker has a crush on you."

"It was a girl," Leia said tersely.

Victory shrugged. "Girls can like other girls. Wake up, Leia it's the 21st century."

Leia put her hand on her face. "You're really not going to let up?"

Victory just starred at her.

Leia groaned

"She tried to take something from me without paying," Leia explained. "My mother said never to give what you have for free. I-I didn't want to disappoint her." the pigtailed finished meekly.

Victory continued to stare st her little cousin.

"Come on, get it out of your system, tell me I'm an idiot for not just doing the easy thing. That I'm small and weak and stupid." the girl said venomously eyes were starting to water. "That what I did was pointless, but I don't care what you_."

Victory embraced her small cousin in a hug. "I'm so proud of you, Leia. You did well. Stuck to your guns even when it got tough. That's a woman right there."

Victory felt Leia wrap her tiny arms around her. "Thanks, cuz."

Victory pushed her back slightly so she could speak to her younger cousin face to face.

"It was damn good on you for standing up for yourself. And I know I bust your little nonexistent balls a lot, but you are smart. I don't want you not to defend yourself and what's yours; I just hope you'd do it smartly. Could you promise that?"

The small girl nodded.

Victory gave her peck on the head.

Victory would be a horror on her little cousin tomorrow. Leia would likewise be a pain in the ass in an hour.

But for one moment they managed to enjoy the others company.


	7. Update:

I kinda gave up on this story. I think the premise could work in hands of a better author.

I kinda hate how I presented Lynn. He seems like a fucking alien quite frankly and thats my fault.

Ok main plot points as the story progressed would have featured Victory getting her sword back, argueing with Lacy about her mom, and realizing she was not a failure.

Lemy would have shacked up with Allie.

Leia would have tamed Gwen, and started the turtle scouts.

Lops and Lizy wouldve spelt the ashes of Rita during some hijinks which would have enraged Lynn, who in a rant revealed the kids parentage.

This would be after he'd warm up to them

Some of the kids run away just wanting to get away from the situation.

Nearly gives Lynn a heart attack.

They'd reconcile and Lynn would take the scattered ashess to the beach where he proposed to Rita.

And bring the kids along with him.

Instead of being alone when he finally said goodbye to his wife he'd be surrounded by his grandchildren.


End file.
